Of Weddings and Warfare
by J-jip
Summary: In the midst of a looming war, an old law is brought back to life. Hermione Granger soon finds herself in a hasty engagement to a man that just happens to be her professor. Marriage Law.
1. The News

_A little background:_ This story takes place in 1997-98, the trio's seventh year. This is therefore AU in which Dumbledore didn't die, and there was never an assignment for Malfoy to kill him. Essentially what would happen if the Trio went to Hogwarts their seventh year and a marriage law sprang up…

* * *

It was a drastic meeting of sorts. Albus liked to think that Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape were two of his most trusted allies, despite what people tended to say about the latter.

Severus sat stiffly, as usual, with his black robes neatly arranged around his thin form. Minerva sat beside him, her hat perched precariously, Her lips pursed in anticipation.

"Well it has to be someone from the Order," the older woman spoke in tight voice, "I won't allow her to marry anybody else in these times. We can barely trust anyone as it is, and who knows who the Ministry can get to!"

Albus nodded, examining his steepled fingers with intensity. He looked up. Severus had been quiet throughout most of this meeting. "Severus, what do you think?" he asked, turning to the quiet man.

Severus seemed vaguely irritated, "I could honestly care less about what you do with the girl. Go ahead, marry her off to someone in the Order, just don't expect Molly Weasley to not put up a fight. Even _I_ have noticed how focused she is on having Granger marry her youngest boy."

Albus considered this. Molly would definitely protest if he married Miss Granger to another Order member, but it seemed like something they had to do. The young Mr. Weasley was not an option, and neither was Harry. The law had its absurd age requirements, and it seemed that it had been put into effect only a few days after the girl turned eighteen. Quite suspicious.

Minerva piped up, "I think this is all too unfair for Hermione. She deserves to know about this before we decide her fate in such a manner."

"Yes, I agree, Minerva," Albus observed, "perhaps we ought to bring her here? Surely she's heard about the law already."

"I'll go find her," the Gryffindor Head of House said, standing up and retreating from the office.

"I doubt you'll be needing me much longer, Albus, and I must prepare for my morning classes," Severus breathed, standing and nodding at the man across the desk.

Albus was lost in thought. He waved Severus off and retreated to the back of his office, where the shelves held many interesting trinkets he had acquired over the years…

* * *

Hermione had been innocently eating her toast in the Great Hall when she heard the news. Apparently all the other students had found out via _Prophet_. She used to always read the _Prophet_ in the mornings, but as of late it had been an all too irritating process. The wizarding newspaper was too often a source of slanderous and silly remarks about Harry, Dumbledore, and various others.

It was because of her ignorance to the _Prophet_ that she found herself quite confused at the amount of tension around the Great Hall. Ron and Harry were still sleeping, as was their customary Sunday routine, so she was unable to ask them if they knew what was going on.

Looking around, Hermione noticed that nearly everyone was reading the Prophet, and some of the older students, including most of the Seventh years, seemed to be very distressed at what they saw.

Hermione spotted Seamus and Dean, who were sitting down the table a little ways. She scooted down and asked what was going on.

"The Ministry's decided to bring back a marriage law," Dean exclaimed, as if excited that he was able to relay such monumental news.

Hermione furrowed her brow, "may I see?"

He handed the paper over. She scanned headlines and articles briskly. Most were focused on the apparent Marriage Law. She barely had time to get far into the paper before a hand fell on her shoulder.

"Miss Granger?' McGonagall's voice called. Hermione turned to see her Head of House wearing a grim expression. "The Headmaster and I would like to have a word with you."

"Oh," she hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. She had a feeling that Dumbledore wanted to speak about this strange new law, and that could only mean bad news. Her stomach dropped.

"Please follow me," McGonagall voiced, turning towards the exit of the Great Hall.

As Hermione followed her Transfiguration Professor, Seamus muttered a quiet realization to Dean, "She's eighteen already, remember? That means she's eligible for the law."

* * *

Albus had retreated to the back of his office, where he stood in front of a small case. Within, it held an ornate gold locket. The previous night, he had consulted said locket shortly after hearing of the new law.

Now, he consulted it again.

The Headmaster opened it gently. Within were two hollowed out golden hearts, shining in the streaks of sunlight that cascaded through a nearby window.

"Hermione Granger," Albus recited, watching the hallowed heart with great caution.

The face and shoulders of the young woman appeared, slightly foggy through the unpolished gold. Her hair was bushy and she wore a Head Girl badge proudly over her Gryffindor robes. The smudged gold distorted her face slightly, but it was still unmistakably Hermione Granger.

After a few more seconds, another face materialized in the opposite half of the locket. Albus smiled at the sight. It was the same face as he had been shown the previous evening.

_Perfect_, he smiled.

* * *

"Albus?" Minerva called into the large, decorated office. He had been sitting at his desk just a minute ago.

After a moment, one particularly jolly looking Albus Dumbledore re-entered the front area of the office. "Ah, Miss Granger, I'm glad you could join us," he chimed, smiling at the young witch.

Minerva noticed a slight twinkle in the older Wizard's eye. _How odd…_ she hadn't seen much of that expression lately, what with the looming war and all the stress it had been placing on the poor wizard.

"Is this about the Marriage Law?" Hermione asked.

Albus exhaled, "Yes, I'm sorry to inform you that it is. As you have surely figured out, this law pertains to you."

Hermione nodded once, her mouth pulled tight. Minerva examined the girl closely.

"Please, sit down," Albus said, motioning to one of the chairs across from his desk.

Minerva watched Hermione bravely take a seat, and then moved to sit in the adjacent chair.

"Now," Albus began, "How much have you heard about this law, Miss Granger?"

"Not much at all," Granger murmured, "I'd only just looked over what the Prophet said about it when Professor McGonagall came to get me."

Albus nodded in understanding, and proceeded to explain the law in depth. Minerva watched the girl carefully, noting the way her already ashen face fell even more when the Headmaster explained the age minimum. She had obviously been thinking that she could get away with marrying Weasley or Potter.

After Albus had explained the law, Hermione looked more distraught than ever. She glanced to her left and Minerva gave her a reassuring smile.

"Now, as I'm sure you know, this law will apply to many students at Hogwarts," Albus explained, "but there are reasons why it pertains to you in particular."

"The Death Eaters still have their hands in the Ministry," She finished. Minerva was surprised by her insightfulness, but really, she ought to have expected this from the girl all along.

"Yes," Albus said solemnly, "Our attempts at weeding out the Death Eater sympathizers have failed. They have truly come up with a clever way to interfere."

"But how could they have gotten this approved?" She asked, eyes lighting up, "Wizarding Marriage Laws of any sort were abolished in the 1700's."

Albus nodded, "It is amazing the power one can have when able to manipulate the Minister."

Minerva gave Albus a sharp glare. It wouldn't do to have him spilling all this information to the girl.

"Scrimgeour's one of them?" She questioned, outraged.

"No, no, I don't think he has any Death Eater affiliations," The headmaster assured, "but I fear that they have found a way to manipulate him, or that another Death Eater is in a high enough place of power to work around him."

Minerva watched as Granger nodded calmly, absorbing the information. Perhaps she was just putting up a calm front…

"Who are they trying to get to with this law?" She asked.

"I'm afraid that I'm not completely sure of that, Miss Granger, though Professor McGonagall and I do have our suspicious."

"Who?" she asked, looking to Minerva, then back at Dumbledore.

"You," Minerva said gravely, "and all of the other Muggleborns or Half-Bloods that they can get their hands on."

Hermione seemed to lose her calm for a split second. Her expression broke into one of despair and fear. Then she was composed once again. She nodded as the evidence dawned on her, "Purebloods have exemptions from the law."

"Yes," Albus replied, "Purebloods are allowed a month to choose a spouse, Muggleborns and Half-Bloods are only allowed a week to marry before a partner is chosen for them."

"And if we wait a week," she said roughly, "they'll pick a Death Eater for me to marry."

"Yes, that will likely happen," Minerva said solemnly.

She took a deep, shaking breath, "But the marriage proposal must be approved by the Ministry. How will I get any marriage approved when they want to marry me off to a Death Eater?"

Minerva recalled the earlier conversation she had exchanged with Albus and Severus.

* * *

_"Severus," Albus sighed wearily, "You must go to the Ministry and find our contact. Make sure he will approve whomever we propose for Miss Granger to marry. We need our contact to intercept the proposal before any Death Eater associates can."_

_Severus seemed to disapprove of the plan, but nodded._

_"Severus, remember that she is essential to the cause," Albus said calmly, "this marriage must be arranged correctly."_

_"Of course," Severus drawled._

* * *

"Trust me, Miss Granger," Albus began, "We have already sorted this out, and the proposal will be approved."

The fight seemed to leave the girl. She slumped back in the chair. "So who can I marry?"

Minerva sighed. She opened her mouth to explained, but paused as Albus caught her eye. The twinkle had returned to his expression. He hid it well, but Minerva had known him for years. She was bound to pick up on the hints of mischievousness in his eyes.

"We feel that it would be wisest for you to marry a member of the Order," Albus said calmly, "That way you would be as protected as possible."

She nodded slowly. Minerva watched as the girl's eyes then fell to the floor. She seemed disappointed, and it once again seemed that Hermione's sights had been set on Potter or Weasley.

There was a long moment of silence as the young witch gazed at the ground. The poor girl, she didn't want to get married. She especially didn't want to marry a near stranger from the Order. But perhaps it could be one of the older Weasley boys, Minerva thought, surely she wouldn't mind that too terribly.

"Is there anyone you would prefer, Hermione?" Minerva asked softly.

She waited a second before shaking her head, "I- I don't know. I've never considered anything like this before."

"That's alright, dear," she replied, patting the girl's arm, "Don't worry, we'll figure this out."

Hermione seemed only marginally consoled. Minerva looked to Albus, who still held that silly twinkle in his eye.

"Miss Granger," Albus begun, "why don't you go and take the day to yourself? Professor McGonagall and I will find someone suitable and have you back here this evening for your opinion."

Minerva watched the girl nod, sigh deeply, and then stand from her chair. "Thank you, Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, I appreciate what you both are doing for me."

She exited the room slowly, leaving Minerva surprised by her tremendous maturity, but really, she ought have expected this much from the girl. She had truly grown up. Perhaps the responsibility of being Head Girl had done her well this year.

Albus was smiling when the door closed behind Hermione. "And just what are you grinning about?" Minerva quipped.

"I think I have a perfect partner for Miss Granger," Albus proclaimed, "and he happens to work right here at Hogwarts…"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I've got a lot planned for this Fic, and I plan on updating very soon. Not to worry, our dear Professor Lupin will be introduced very quickly. Also, reviews are my lifeblood.


	2. A Husband

Hermione spent the remainder of her morning in the Library. She supposed she was lucky that Harry and Ron would likely sleep until noon. It gave her time to think all of this through.

She sat at her table at the library – it was her table because she frequented the library, and as Head Girl, most others were afraid of encroaching on her space– thinking at length about this law.

The library was quiet on this autumn morning. It was the middle of September, just two days after Hermione's eighteenth birthday. She realized that it really was quite suspicious that the law had gone into effect only two days after she turned eighteen. Hermione shook her head, _just a coincidence._

She pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. It was fair to say that she was going through a mediocre amount of emotional turmoil at the moment. The young witch's brows pulled together as she thought about this law.

This was going to turn her life around. It already had, actually. She didn't want to get _married_. And then on top of the whole marriage thing there was _sex_.

She definitely hadn't allowed that detail of the law to go unnoticed. The Ministry was claiming that this whole thing was in an effort to replenish the Wizarding population. Thus, they required each married couple to have sex once every two weeks, and on the night of their wedding. Hermione buried her head in her arms. She didn't want to have _sex_ with some random order member.

Hermione wished that she could owl her mum for help. It was too bad that her parents were living in Australia with no clue that they had a daughter. She had Obliviated them over the summer for their own safety.

With an ache in her chest and tightness in her throat, Hermione realized that she missed her mum terribly. The wise Mrs. Granger would know how to deal with circumstances like these. But alas, she was on her own.

Hermione imagined what it would be like to marry a classmate. She thought it was a completely stupid idea, and didn't know which choice was worse: marrying a classmate or marrying an Order member. Who could she even marry from the Order? An image of Snape popped into her head and Hermione grimaced, sinking deeper into the chair.

After about an hour or so of contemplation Hermione had decided that she was just going to muscle through this whole thing. The law was outrageous, and Dumbledore would surely push to get it overturned as quickly as possible. Even if it didn't get overturned, she was going to get through it because she was in the middle of a war. Voldemort was gaining more power by the day, and terrorizing both the Muggle and Wizarding population constantly. Hermione wouldn't run away and hide from this law. She was going to fight the Death Eaters every step of the way. A sweet sense of rebellion filled her when she thought about how disruptive she could be through marrying an Order member, not one of Voldemort's Death Eaters.

* * *

Hermione ended up getting out of the library around noon. Upon her arrival at the Great Hall for lunch, she spotted Harry, Ron, and Ginny sitting together at their end of the table.

Ginny noticed her first, and she could feel the redhead go into a study of Hermione's movements and expressions. They had undoubtedly heard about the law, and knew that Hermione was eligible, as the only eighteen-year-old of their friends.

"Hi," Ginny greeted, smiling gently.

"Hi," Hermione breathed, sitting beside Ron.

Harry and Ron were obviously studying her as she got her food. She tried to put up a strong, brave expression. Other students were milling about the Hall, but it wasn't very crowded in general. On weekends the cavernous room tended to be significantly less populated.

"You alright?" Harry asked.

Hermione sighed, "I'm okay… been better."

Ginny looked sad.

"Dean said you talked to the Headmaster this morning," Harry muttered.

She nodded, "Yeah. We – ah, we talked about what I'm going to do."

"And?" Ginny asked hopefully.

Hermione shrugged, "They're going to try to find someone from the Order for me to marry. They think it's too dangerous to have me marry anyone else." She tried to sound detached as she explained.

Ginny's face fell, "They won't let you marry who you want?"

Ron was watching her closely. She bit her lip, "Well, Dumbledore said he would ask my opinion on it… But I understand the situation, and it's much safer this way."

"This is bloody stupid," Ron seethed, shoving a nearby copy of the _Prophet_ away. It slid down the table and then floated off onto the floor. Ron crossed his arms angrily, the tips of his ears a light shade of red.

Hermione felt her chest tighten. Ron obviously had some sort of feelings for her, and to be honest, she had feelings for him. Before today, she had been so hopeful that maybe their friendship was growing into something more. Now this law had ruined everything.

"How did they even get away with the law?" Harry asked, looking vexed.

"Dumbledore said that it's because of Death Eater involvement in the Ministry," she explained.

Harry clenched his jaw, "He's mentioned that a couple times in our meetings. Said that he's been having to do a lot to make sure the Ministry stops interfering in Hogwarts business."

There was a moment of silence in which Hermione contemplated the immense amount of responsibilities and problems that Harry was having to deal with. On top of this stupid law, there was the constant nuisance that was their hunt for Horcruxes, and then the ever-looming war. Hermione had entered her seventh year at Hogwarts with a waning hope that she and her friends would make it through to the end of the year.

"So when is Dumbledore going to figure this out?" Ginny asked anxiously.

"He's told me to come back to his office tonight, and that he'll have someone by then," Hermione murmured gravely. The idea that she would have a fiancée by the end of the night was truly daunting.

* * *

The afternoon passed rather uneventfully. Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Harry retreated back to the common room, where everyone was talking about the marriage law. Hermione was all too happy to get her mind off of things when Ron asked her to edit his Transfiguration essay.

Soon it was time to go back to Dumbledore's office. She left her friends with a grim expression, trying to ignore the somber looks they exchanged.

She arrived at Dumbledore's office in only a few minutes. The door opened to reveal Dumbledore sitting at his desk. He smiled kindly, "Welcome, Miss Granger. Please take a seat."

Hermione sat down, and then took a deep breath. She was feeling strangely nauseous at the thought of what she was about to find out.

"Now, I suppose you'll want me to cut right with the chase," the Headmaster said, "I've spoken to someone whom I think is an excellent candidate."

Hermione frowned at the word "candidate". It was like this was a job someone had to do. She imagined Dumbledore advertising it like it was a job. _Who wants to take care of the helpless Hermione Granger? _

"Now," Dumbledore sighed, "I know that this is a difficult situation for you to accept, but I think that Remus Lupin would be the best choice. He understands the conditions of this and he's already a Professor here at Hogwarts-"

Hermione wasn't listening to what Professor Dumbledore was saying anymore. Thoughts of Lupin were invading her mind.

_Lupin? Her husband?_

But he was her teacher, and not to mention years older, the same age as Sirius had been! She couldn't imagine being married to him. He was her Professor!

But she had no choice.

"Miss Granger?" Dumbledore was looking at her, "Is this alright?"

Hermione sputtered for words, "I- I don't understand, he's my Professor. How can I marry a Professor?"

Dumbledore nodded, "I have considered this, and I think that it is a relatively minor setback. There are no explicit statements against situations like this in the Hogwarts regulations. Seeing as you are of age, and considering the fact that this law is so sudden, I am sure that the Ministry won't restrict you from marrying Remus because he is your teacher. However, I do think we will need to withdraw you from the roster of your Defense Against the Dark Arts class. You may still attend the class to prepare for your NEWTs, but I don't think it would be wise if Remus was made to continue giving you grades in the class."

Hermione leaned back in her chair, trying to master her shock. She _had_ to be mature about this. It wouldn't be that bad, she had imagined much worse when Dumbledore had told her someone from the Order. Though maybe she had been silly in guessing that one of the older Weasleys was available.

"Do you think this arrangement will work, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked, a smile lighting his face in a vaguely suspicious way.

Hermione nodded slowly, setting her face into an expression of calm acceptance, "yes, I think this will be fine." She was proud when her voice didn't waiver.

Dumbledore smiled again, "Wonderful. Now, arrangements will be made, and this will be approved by the Ministry, but after that, we must act fast. The law allows a week, so you will be married by next Saturday."

Hermione took a shaking breath. She only had a week…

"Also, this must remain a secret until the marriage is official. If word gets out, then our efforts could all fall to pieces. You may tell your close friends, but be careful who you trust with this secret."

"I understand," Hermione murmured, "thank you, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled and offered her a lemon drop, which Hermione refused politely. She needed to get out of there and back to her dormitory. The Headmaster explained more about the situation and what would happen in the coming days, then Hermione finally stood to leave. Just as she was about to reach the door, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Miss Granger, I'm sure you know that these are dark times. We all must make sacrifices for the war, and this is first and foremost for your safety. I urge you to view this as an advantage. You will be able to remain at Hogwarts, instead of running from this law."

She said a final thank-you and left the grand office. Her gut felt heavy with fear and anxiety.

* * *

Hermione entered the common room as quietly as possible. The room was full, and she spotted Ron and Harry sitting by the fire where she had left them. She made her way past quietly, not feeling like she could talk to them right now. They could find out in the morning. She went up to her dormitory, happy to find it empty. Lavender and Parvati would have been hounding her about the law had they been there.

Hermion changed into more comfortable clothes and fell onto her bed. It was fair to say that she was emotionally exhausted. So much had happened today and she thought that it could quite possibly take months to think all of this through. She settled on just lying atop of her bed, allowing Crookshanks to curl into her side as she rested.

Her mind didn't quiet, however, and after about fifteen minutes she was still full of thoughts.

It was probably lucky that Ginny entered the room then, for Hermione was relieved to see the girl. She had fostered a very close friendship with Ginny over the years, and at moments like these she really needed another girl to talk to.

"Hey," Ginny said, moving towards Hermione's bed. Crookshanks made a sort of grumbling protesting sound, and hopped off the mattress. Ginny got on the bed, leaning against the old wooden bedpost.

"Hi," Hermione said, her eyes not leaving the ceiling. She felt rather dramatic at the moment.

"Do you want to tell me who it is?" Ginny asked gently.

Hermione sighed, "It's Professor Lupin."

She waited for a gasp of incredulity, or a scandalized shriek, but nothing came from Ginny. Hermione pulled her glance from the ceiling to look at her friend. Ginny's eyebrows were raised almost to her hairline, "Really?" she asked.

Hermione nodded, her chest rising and falling slowly.

"That's… well… that's actually better than I expected," Ginny mused.

Hermione gave the redhead a surprised glance, "he's a _Professor_, Ginny."

"But he _is_ kinda handsome, in a rugged older man sorta way. I know you enjoy that kind of thing."

"I can't believe you actually just said that," Hermione stated, almost laughingly.

"Oh, come on, Hermione! You've always had a bit of a thing for older guys…"

"That was _one time,_" Hermione asserted, "and it was only Viktor. He wasn't that much older."

"And you also had your eye on Charlie this summer, don't think I didn't notice that," Ginny sang.

Hermione blushed, but after a moment let out a little giggle. Ginny began giggling as well.

The laughter lapsed out into a solemn silence.

"I have to have sex with him," Hermione uttered, her voice barely a whisper.

"And you're scared," Ginny observed.

Hermione nodded, sitting up, "I've never- what if it's terribly awkward? What if I can't do it right? What if he doesn't like me at all?"

"Hermione," Ginny said, putting her hand on Hermione's arm in a calming gesture, "you've got nothing to worry about."

"How do you know that?" Hermione groaned, running her hands through her wild hair.

"I was worried too, but when I finally did it, it was just so amazing," Ginny said dreamily.

Hermione scanned her friend's face, "who did you have sex with?"

"Harry, of course!"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up. She didn't expect that. She thought back through recent interaction between the Harry and Ginny. They _had_ seemed a lot closer lately… but to be honest, she didn't really want to think about Harry having sex. He was like her brother…

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Oh, don't looks so horrified, I'm trying to help you."

"Sorry," Hermione shook her head, letting the images leave her mind.

"Don't worry, I'm going to teach you everything there is to know about sex," Ginny said, a broad smile on her face.

And Ginny did exactly that. A long conversation ensued in which Ginny described her first sexual experience in detail. Hermione got past her initial torrent of blushing and managed to grasp some information that could prove useful in the future. By the end of their conversation, Hermione knew far more about sex than she had when she woke up that morning. It was about an hour before she found herself yawning. Ginny noticed and went to take her leave.

"Ginny?" Hermione said, stopping the girl in her tracks.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you… for this," Hermione murmured.

Ginny gave her a melancholic smile, "No problem."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Review? I'd like to know what people are thinking so far. Also, thanks so much for all the reviews/follows/favorites last chapter!

_Coming up next:_ Ginny forces Hermione to talk to Lupin, prompting an exceedingly awkward conversation.


	3. Conversation

Hermione faced Monday morning with a brave determination. She walked with Ginny to breakfast, worrying over the fact that she would have to see Lupin for the first time at breakfast. They arrived to find Harry already at the Gryffindor table.

"Ron's skipping breakfast," Harry informed them. Hermione realized that he must have been angry about the news. She wondered if perhaps he was jealous, but quickly shook the thought from her mind.

Ginny had told Harry and Ron about Lupin the previous night. Hermione was glad that she didn't have to face the reactions of the boys. However, it seemed Harry was already walking on eggshells around her. She knew from experience that when Harry was uncomfortable about something, his discomfort usually didn't lessen for quite awhile.

She ate her toast uninterestedly as her eyes strayed to the Head Table. Lupin was looking down at whatever was in front of him, giving her the opportunity to examine him. Ginny had been right, he wasn't bad looking at all. She had just never really noticed his appearance before.

Suddenly, he turned and looked at Hermione. She immediately bolted her gaze away and looked down, feeling a blush flaming up on her cheeks.

She made sure to not look up at the Head Table for the rest of breakfast.

Potions was her first class of the day. Ron was enrolled in the class, despite the fact that he was nearly failing. When he arrived in the classroom, he didn't even acknowledge Hermione, just claimed the seat beside Harry.

Hermione let out an angry huff of breath and went to sit with Parvati,. Normally, she would hate to have to listen to the constant gossip of her dorm mate, but she was far too irritated with Ron at the moment. Plus, Parvati wasn't nearly as overbearing when Lavender was absent. She spent Potions with the other Gryffindor girl, stubbornly refusing to look in Ron's direction.

The day dragged on, and Hermione found herself greatly relieved that she didn't have Defense Against the Dark Arts on Mondays. She was not ready to face Lupin in a classroom setting, especially after what had happened at breakfast.

Charms was the worst class of the day. Flitwick had allowed them to practice spells in small groups. This made for a situation in which everyone was chatting wildly. Hermione barely heard a word that strayed from the subject of the Marriage Law for the entire class.

She was sitting with Lavender and Parvati, still feeling to stubborn to sit with Harry and Ron. Lavender was talking nonstop about all the marriages and proposals.

"And did you hear about Justin? I saw him and that blonde Slytherin girl walking together!" Lavender gossiped with an enthralled Parvati.

Parvati gasped. "Do you think they'll get engaged?"

"I don't know but it seems that everyone is. Oh, this is so exciting!" Lavender squealed, "I wish I were eighteen already."

Hermione rolled her eyes and focused on her notes.

Soon the attention of the girls strayed to their brunette tablemate. "Hermione, have you been proposed to yet? Oh, it must be so exciting!" Lavender yelped.

Hermione felt her anger boil over. She turned to Lavender briskly, "_That_ is none of your business," she seethed.

Lavender raised a manicured brow, huffed, and then turned away to continued her conversation with Parvati. Hermione let out an exasperated sigh and got back to work.

* * *

After classes ended for the day, Hermione walked with Harry and Ron towards the Common Room to change out of their uniforms. Ron and Hermione still hadn't spoken at all. Harry was being nearly as annoying, acting as if she was a fragile child in this dreadful situation.

Before they could make it to the Common Room, Ginny exited the portrait hole and came storming towards them. "Oh no you don't," she trilled at Hermione, halting the girl in her tracks.

"What?" Hermione charged back.

Ginny grabbed her forearm tightly. "It's time for you to go talk to Lupin. Goodbye, boys!" she sang, dragging Hermione back down the staircase, which was now shifting in its place.

Harry made a bumbling uncomfortable noise, but Hermione didn't look back. Instead, she gave Ginny an irritated glare, "I can't go see Lupin, I have homework to do."

"Oh please, I'm sure you had all your work finished by lunchtime, and even if you don't, it's not going to take very long," the redhead insisted, "You just need to talk to him." They were heading towards where Hermione knew Lupin's office and rooms were located.

"Ginny, I can't," Hermione stuttered, suddenly struck with an immense anxiousness.

Ginny turned and looked at Hermione steadily, "You _can_. Trust me, once you two have had an actual conversation, this all will get a lot easier."

Hermione swallowed dryly, "What am I even supposed to say to him?"

"Just make conversation, be civil with him."

Before Hermione had any more time to protest, they were standing in front of Lupin's office. Ginny knocked, and then swiftly disappeared down the corridor.

Hermione took a deep breath and clenched her clammy palms. There was silence for a moment, and then she heard footsteps, and the door opened.

Lupin stood there, a surprised expression on his face, "Hermione," he puffed, "come in, please." He still wore his teaching robes, which were slightly faded in some spots. She noted that he looked more tired than usual, and it wasn't even close to the full moon. Maybe this whole marriage thing was taking a toll on him as well.

She stepped inside and watched as he glanced outside the doorway, peeking right and left down the corridor before shutting the door. Hermione remembered how all of this was supposed to be a secret. The idea that she was essentially sneaking into a Professors office was strangely exhilarating. She quickly shook her head, pushing that thought away.

His office was the same as it had always been. She noted his neatly lined quills, the parchment rolls that were obviously yet to be graded, and the old tea set that sat on a small table behind his desk. The room was overall neat and tidy. A window was open behind his desk, letting in a gust of Autumn air.

"How are you?" Lupin asked, prompting Hermione to realize that she had been silently inspecting his office for a long moment.

"I'm alright," she replied, meeting his eyes, "And you?"

"Good," he nodded, "I'm good."

She felt the awkwardness seeping between them.

"Would you like some tea?" he questioned, making his way over to the tea set.

She could still feel the dryness in her throat, "yes, please."

He told her to take a seat if she liked and then focused on making the tea. She sat down and watched him for a moment. "I'm glad you came by, I was thinking that we ought to talk," he murmured. She noticed that his voice had quite a soothing aspect to it. The thought made her frown. She couldn't start thinking things like that. It wouldn't do to start developing a crush on him, even if they were to be married.

She cleared her throat, "Yes, it's probably wise that we talk about this."

"Here you are," he said, turning towards her with a steaming cup of tea.

She extended her hand and took the cup, "Thank you, Professor."

He made a noise that sounded almost like a chuckle, "you probably don't have to call me Professor anymore. I think Remus will do. At least outside of class."

She felt a blush rise in her cheeks, "Of course… Remus."

This was all terribly awkward.

"So," He sighed, relaxing into his chair, "are you as irritated as I am with all this talk of the law?"

Hermione sighed, "Oh yes, there is far too much gossip and chatter about it. You should have heard Lavender Brown in Charms today."

"I know the feeling," he laughed softly, "I had to give two detentions because the kids in my fifth year class couldn't stop talking about it.

The corner of Hermione's mouth lifted in a little smile, "I heard that Snape gave out four."

He laughed outright, which lifted her sprits significantly. It was good to know that he wasn't taking this whole situation too harshly.

He was surprisingly good at lessening the awkwardness surrounding their predicament. She enjoyed talking with him like this, however, she had to get down to business. There were some things she had been meaning to talk to him about.

She took a sip of her tea, swallowed, and then opened her mouth hesitantly. "R-Remus," she said, "I don't- I want to know if you're sure about this, about marrying me. I feel like Dumbledore might have put you in a position where you feel like you must do this, and-"

He put up a hand to stop her, "I promise you, Hermione, I'm sure about this, and it's not only for your benefit. You are also helping me avoid the penalties of this law."

She found herself looking down at the teacup in her hand, steam rising in slow wisps from its surface. "I still feel like I'm ruining your life a little," she said, smiling self-deprecatingly.

When she looked up, she found Lupin watching her strangely. "Funny," he said, "I had thought the same thing."

"Well you're definitely not ruining _my_ life," she quipped, biting her lip.

"And you're not ruining mine," he smiled a little, "besides," He leaned back in his chair, "Werewolves have generally a lot more rights when married to non-werewolves, as opposed to being married to another werewolf, or not being married at all."

She furrowed her brow, "but I'm a Muggleborn."

"That doesn't really matter in this respect," he shrugged, "still gives me a few more political rights."

"Good," she muttered, sipping her tea.

After a pause in which the silence stretched to a bit of an awkward length, Lupin spoke again. "I suppose I should let you know," he began gruffly, "I've spoken to Professor Dumbledore about what the- ah, arrangements will be."

Hermione's eyebrows pulled together, "Arrangements?"

"Well," He exhaled, "The law states that we're supposed to live together, and once word gets out to the school, other students will likely question the legitimacy of the marriage if you continued to stay in your dormitory."

"Oh," she croaked.

"So, Albus and I talked about you staying here," He stated, running a hand through his hair uncomfortably.

She hadn't thought about this. _Living with him_… it was a whole other dimension of her life that the Marriage Law was altering.

He smiled self-deprecatingly, "I know it's not the best situation, but I can promise that it won't be too terrible to live with me… I guarantee that I'll stay out of your way."

Hermione shook her head, "I should be the one promising to stay out of your way," she chewed her lower lip, "I feel terrible that I'm invading so much of your life."

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, I really don't mind all that much. Besides, these rooms have always been a little bit big for me," Lupin motioned to a door behind him, which she guessed led to his quarters. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. The idea of living in a teacher's quarters sounded so wrong.

Hermione didn't know what to say next. She sat silently and sipped her tea.

"Don't worry about it too much," he offered, examining her closely, "It'll all blow over soon enough."

"Hopefully," she remarked.

"And then things will be back to normal," he continued, "except for the fact that you'll have a Werewolf Professor as a husband."

She chuckled lightly, "I'm sure the press would love to get their hands on _that_ headline."

"Oh, I'd love to see them try and wrap their heads around it. What a scandal," he mused.

Hermione's face fell. She could feel the anxiousness rise up in her chest again. The problem was that this _would_ be a scandal, and a terrible one at that. The worst part was that she was going to have to pretend that all of it was real.

"I probably ought to go," she murmured after another silence, "I have some homework to do."

He gave her a strange, steady look. "Alright. Goodbye, Hermione."

"Bye Remus," she echoed, exiting his office and quickly moving down the corridor.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading! I think you'll see that things start picking up now, and soon we can really get into the development of the marriage (and their relationship).

_Coming up next_: We find out the meaning behind that strange locket Dumbledore used. Also, Hermione and Remus have a bit of a moment together…


	4. A Proposal of Sorts

"Explain yourself."

There was a pause before Albus smiled genially. "I must admit that I don't know what you're talking about, Minerva."

The Gryffindor Head of House crossed her arms; "you have to tell me eventually."

"And what exactly would you like me to tell you?" He asked, picking a lemon drop out of the bowl on his desk.

"Why were you so adamant on Remus? You've been very suspicious, and I still haven't heard a valid explanation as to why all of the Weasleys were ruled out." She pursed her lips, eyeing the Headmaster sternly.

Albus sighed, "I told you, it's simply easier for Miss Granger to marry Remus. He lives here on Hogwarts Grounds."

"But he's her professor," Minerva interrupted, "That's a fairly big obstacle. I personally think it would be much easier to have her marry one of the Weasley twins." To be honest, she didn't really think that Hermione could get along very well with either Fred or George Weasley, but that plan did seem much sounder that the one involving Remus.

He smiled, shaking his head, "Come along, Minerva, I have something I would like to show you."

Minerva followed him to the back of his office, where he kept the strangest group of trinkets and artifacts. She watched as he located and removed a small golden locket from one shelf.

"A friend gave this to me many years ago," the old wizard explained, "at the time it appeared to be cheap and dysfunctional, but to my surprise, it works quite well."

He handed the piece of jewelry to Minerva. "What is it?" She asked suspiciously.

"There are many names," Albus sighed, "however, it is most commonly referred to as a Compatibility Pendant."

Minerva's eyes shot up at him, "You didn't…" she murmured gravely.

Albus smiled, "I did, and it seems that Miss Granger has quite a good match right here at Hogwarts."

Minerva shook her head in denial, looked at the locket. Quietly, she spoke Hermione's name. The girl's face appeared, and beside it, that of Remus Lupin. Minerva waited a moment and tried the same process starting with Remus' name. Sure enough, Hermione Granger appeared beside him.

"How can you be sure that this isn't faulty?" she asked Albus sternly.

"The magic within it is strong, and it has created long lasting relationships out of every couple it has influenced in the past."

Minerva inspected him and the locket for a moment. The man's meddling ways were sometimes all too irritating. "Minerva McGonagall," she spoke, examining the locket.

Albus clasped his hands together and she could feel him watching the opposite side of the pendant. After a moment, the face of a young man appeared.

"Richard," Minerva whispered forlornly. Albus gave her a questioning look. She swallowed, "He's been dead for many years now."

"I'm sorry," Albus said quietly.

Minerva shook her head, "But surely there isn't only one perfectly compatible person for everyone. How can this only choose one person? How can it be possible that the one person it says for Hermione is someone she already knows? There are far too many people in the world for the odds to be that lucky."

Albus nodded, "It doesn't only have one match for every person. It simply picks a realistic, highly compatible relationship, as long as both members have not invested deep feelings in another person, and if both members already know or will know each other at some point in the near future. Therefore, it may suggest someone like Remus for Miss Granger, and Miss Granger for Remus."

Minerva took a moment to contemplate this information. "You are far too meddlesome, Albus," she concluded.

He didn't say anything, just put the locket back on the shelf. Minerva left his office with a slight smile on her face, despite her irritation with Albus. She knew that Hermione and Remus could make a wonderful couple, but she still worried that maybe a falsified marriage wasn't the best place for a new relationship to grow.

* * *

The week was dragging on, and Hermione found herself more and more nervous for the coming wedding every day.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts on Tuesday, she had tried her hardest not to make any awkward eye contact with Lupin. However, sitting next to Harry and Ron had made this terribly difficult. Ron was glaring at Lupin throughout class, while Harry just stared, and then jumped back to the parchment in front of him whenever Lupin looked their way. Hermione kept telling herself that she only had to make it through a few more days of this, and then things would go back to some sort of normalcy with the boys.

There was a tremendous flurry about the marriages around school. Hermione noted with annoyance that on the whole of Tuesday, she had not gone one hour without hearing at least one whisper of marriages or the law. On top of this, the _Prophet_ had taken up reporting on every high-class or scandalous marriage that was being arranged. This frightened Hermione. She prayed that the _Prophet _wouldn't report on her and Lupin when the word got out.

On Wednesday evening, she was called into Dumbledore's office to sign the papers for the wedding. While she walked to the Headmaster's office, she couldn't even bother to chide some Slytherin Third Years that were goofing off.

She felt vaguely sick when she entered Dumbledore's office. There were papers set about the desk. Dumbledore sat with Lupin across from him, and an extra armchair to Lupin's left. He turned around when she entered, giving her a weak smile.

She mustered her courage and sat in the chair beside him. Folding her hands together in a nervous manner.

"Now that both of you are here, we may begin," Dumbledore said, arranging papers in front of him. Over his left shoulder, Fawkes let out a soft squawk.

Dumbledore began to explain what they were about to do. He had some sort of proposal documents in front of him, which they would sign, and then Snape would be taking to the Ministry. There, the contact would get the engagement approved, and they would be set for the wedding.

Hermione sat very still in her chair, trying to focus on keeping herself calm. She just kept telling herself that none of this really mattered. Even if the marriage was permanent until the Ministry approved a divorce, it wasn't going to change things all that much.

"Now," Dumbledore folded his hands, "I think we are ready to sign."

Hermione's stomach dropped. She chanced a look at Lupin beside her and noted his stiff expression. As he leaned forward and picked up a quill she considered that perhaps she ought to start thinking of him as Remus instead of just Lupin. He was going to be her husband after all…

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore called her out of her thoughts. He extended a quill to her. She took it in her hand and felt the magic tingle against the tips of her fingers. Magical quills were often used in any sort of contractual or official documentation process. She had never used one before…

With a deep breath, Hermione brought the quill down to the paper, and scrawled out her shaky signature. She watched as a slight glisten of magic coasted over the ink, effectively binding her into the engagement.

She heard Remus let out a sigh from beside her. She looked at him and he smiled solemnly.

"Alright," Dumbledore murmured, "this will be taken to the Ministry as soon as Severus arrives. But for now, I must inform the two of you of a few other details of this operation."

Hermione and Remus nodded.

Dumbledore continued, "The news of this marriage will likely get out, but hopefully we will have the Marriage contract completely processed before that point. Only a few people know about this arrangement. Hermione, I am sure you have told Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, and most Order members know as well."

Hermione blanched. She hadn't thought that the Order would hear about this so soon… They had probably freaked out when they heard the news… she couldn't imagine what Mrs. Weasley's reaction would have been.

"I know that the both of you want this to be a quiet operation. Molly Weasley has been asking me if she can attend the wedding"

Hermione frowned. She could see Remus shift uncomfortably to her right. She understood his trepidation, Mrs. Weasley tended to be terribly protective of Ron's friends. She wondered what the woman thought of Remus now.

"I told Molly that it would be best if nobody attended the wedding unless absolutely necessary," Dumbledore explained.

Hermione let out a small breath of relief. She didn't think she could bear to have to talk to Mrs. Weasley about this. "Thank you, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled amicably at Hermione, then looked to Remus. She kept experiencing a strange surmounting suspicion at his behavior about this whole marriage thing.

"Remus, is there anything else you would like to add?" Dumbledore was watching Remus steadily. Hermione turned to look at her now-fiancé.

His expression lit up, "Oh! Yes," he reached into his robes and began rustling around, eventually pulling out a small box.

Hermione's mouth fell open upon realization of what was in that box, "Remus," she chided him gently, feeling more confidence in her ability to speak with him, "You really don't have to do that."

"Nonsense," he waved her off, and stood from his chair, facing her.

Hermione chewed her lip. Well he couldn't really _propose_ now, could he? Perhaps he was just going to give the ring to her?

He reached out a hand to her; she accepted it and he gently pulled her into an upright position. Glancing over at Dumbledore, she saw that the man was smiling quaintly.

"You didn't have to buy this," she said, looking at Remus. She knew that he'd never been one to have an excess of money, and she hated the idea that he would spend so much money on her.

He shook his head, "I didn't, Albus did."

Hermione looked at her Headmaster, who simply nodded, "Consider it a wedding present."

"It's a modest one anyway, and we figured that this marriage ought to look as legitimate as possible, even if we're keeping it a secret for now." He spoke softly while opening the box.

Hermione inhaled, her eyebrows pulling together and her lips curling upwards in a slight smile. He reached for her hand once again, and placed the ring on her finger.

The ring was modest, but she had always quite liked them this way. It had a small ruby on a thin band, and magically adjusted to her finger when he slid it on.

She thought that perhaps she ought to hug him. Wasn't that what people did in these sort of situations?

He inspected the ring on her hand for a moment before looking up, "I think you wear it very elegantly."

She blushed at the strange compliment, and for some reason the whole moment and Remus' actions all became rather charming. He looked quite dashing as well. There was stubble forming on his chin and cheeks after having not shaved in a few days. She felt the oddest inclination to kiss him.

Hermione shook the thought out of her head and moved to hug him instead. "Thank you, Remus."

"Anytime," He breathed, returning the hug politely.

She felt like something important was happening between them, but she couldn't quite pinpoint it.

After a moment, Dumbledore told them they could leave. Hermione exited the office with Remus shortly behind her. "I'll walk you to the Common Room," he offered, "It's on my way."

Hermione blushed and nodded, falling into stride beside him. As they walked, she noticed that she had to move her feet faster to keep up. He was fairly tall, and she was only average height. Therefore, her legs didn't move her quite as fast.

"How are your classes?" He asked. The corridor was quiet except for their footsteps and his voice. Hermione was relieved that there weren't any students around to see the strange couple wandering the corridors.

"Good," She replied, "Potions is difficult, though I think it's because Snape hates me."

Remus chuckled, "I doubt he hates you. He just has trouble being civil towards Gryffindors."

Hermione laughed lightly, shrugging her bag up her shoulder.

"And how do you think I'm doing?" He asked, "Is Defense class up to the standard from your third year?"

She considered the question. He was still a wonderful teacher to have. All the kids had loved him when he had taught during their third year. Now, things weren't very different, aside from the rare snide comment about his lycanthropy.

"You're doing a wonderful job," she confirmed, "I've always enjoyed your class."

He nodded, "Sorry that I won't be able to give you grades anymore, though I daresay that you don't need to be graded at all."

Hermione blushed at the flattery, "I don't mind it. After all, I still get to attend class."

They were closing in on the Common Room. Hermione felt her mood drop. Over the past couple of days, she had hated being in the Common Room, solely because of all of the talk of marriages. The girls in her dormitory had taken to constantly asking her what she was going to do about the law. She couldn't imagine what it would be like now that she was wearing a ring.

She glanced down at her left hand. The ring shone brightly on her finger.

"Well," he exhaled, "I suppose this is where I leave you. Goodnight, Hermione."

"Goodnight," she replied, giving him an awkward smile.

He moved away as the portrait hole opened. Hermione stood and watched him retreat down the corridor for a moment.

"Hermione!" Ginny's voice called through the portrait. She turned to see her friend standing behind her, grinning at the sight of Lupin walking away.

"Hi, Ginny," Hermione sighed, feeling the tiredness seep into her bones as she entered the Common Room. She hadn't been getting much sleep lately…

"How'd it go?" The redhead questioned, leading Hermione over to where Harry and Ron sat.

Hermione plopped down in an armchair, "It was fine. He gave me a ring."

"A ring?" Ginny gasped loudly.

"Shush!" Hermione admonished the girl, "Yes, a ring." She extended her hand discreetly and showed it to Ginny. Harry and Ron looked away from their game of chess and examined the ring. Ron grumbled out something incoherent and stood, leaving the Common Room.

Hermione arched a brow at Ron's behavior.

"Forget him," Ginny waved it off, looking back to the ring, "you have to tell me what happened! Did he actually propose? Why did he walk you back to the Common Room?"

Hermione began to explain the details of the evening, while Ginny continued to ask multitudes of excited questions. It was a long time before Hermione was able to collapse in her bed. However, she found that there wasn't much sleep to be had. She could only really stare at the ring that now sat on her finger, wondering how she was going to get through the rest of this week.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks so much for the reviews, they made me very happy.

_Coming up next: _Hermione finds herself in the Hospital Wing, and a certain someone comes to visit her.


	5. Wedding Worries

"Just leave me here to die," Hermione wailed dramatically, turning over in bed and stuffing her face into the pillow. Her hair was spread over the pillow and got in her face when she turned. She groaned in annoyance.

She knew that if she were able to see Ginny right now, the girl would be tapping her foot impatiently, with her hands on her hips. "Hermione," she heard Ginny sigh, "it's not going to help if you skip breakfast. That will only make you even more grumpy."

Hermione wallowed in her irritation for a moment, feeling Crookshanks jump up onto her body and settle himself into a ball on the small of her back. Ginny huffed, "I'm going to the Great Hall to find Harry, I better see you down there so you can get something to eat before class."

Hermione nodded mutely into her pillow, hearing Ginny retreat from the dormitory. Luckily Lavender and Parvati were already gone. She had been avoiding them as much as possible lately. However, her evasions hadn't stopped them from seeing the engagement ring. Now all the Gryffindors knew that the great Hermione Granger was engaged, and people were constantly asking her who her mystery fiancé was.

It was Friday. Tomorrow she was getting married, and any time she thought about it she experienced an onset of a terrible headache. The week had been pretty terrible so far. Each day had found Hermione more and more stressed, surmounting to a massive anxiety level.

The worst part was that her upcoming marriage wasn't the only thing she was worried about. There was so much to keep track of: Head Girl duties, worrying about Harry and the strange visions of Voldemort he had been getting lately, the fact that Snape had extended her essay requirements by another four inches, everyone bothering her with questions about who she was engaged to, and on top it all off, there was always the looming war to worry about.

Yes, it was fair to say that she was stressed.

Hermione gently pushed Crookshanks off of her back and rose from the bed, moving to the bathroom. In the mirror, she noted that she had atrocious bags under her eyes. The stress had caused a significant lack of sleep. She was exhausted, and it showed.

With a comb and some spells, Hermione tamed her mass of hair. She proceeded to slowly put on her uniform, grab her bag, and exit the dormitory.

The Great Hall was filled when she arrived, so she slyly made her way over to the Gryffindor table. It wouldn't do to draw any unnecessary attention. People were already talking about her enough behind her back.

Ginny informed Hermione that Harry was still sleeping. "He had a late meeting with Dumbledore last night. Ron said he didn't get back until nearly eleven, and then he had to do his homework."

"That sounds terrible," Hermione fretted.

Harry was very stressed these days as well, mostly due to the whole Horcruxe situation. He'd started up his meetings with Dumbledore in the beginning of the term, and relayed most of the information to Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. Hermione knew that Harry and Dumbledore weren't making much progress locating the Horcruxes, and it worried the boy. What if they didn't destroy the Horcruxes in time?

Soon breakfast ended. Hermione said goodbye to Ginny and rushed off to class.

In Arithmancy, she couldn't even remotely concentrate on Professor Sinstra's lecture. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the wedding tomorrow and worries about Harry.

Lunchtime found Hermione in the library, not wanting to be around the general student body if she didn't have to. After that, she rushed off to Potions, hoping that Snape wasn't in a particularly malicious mood..

She rounded the corner to the Dungeons, checking her bag to make sure she had the essay that she had to turn in.

"_No_," she whispered, digging her heels into the stone floor. Her essay wasn't in her bag. "_No_," Hermione repeated to herself, frantically shifting things around in her bag to look for it.

After a thorough search, she finally closed her eyes in anger, realizing that she had left the essay in the library. She still had a moment until class began, but she had to go back and get her essay, which would undoubtedly make her late for class.

Hermione almost sprinted back through the corridors, racing into the library and grabbing her essay off the table. "_Stupid_," she admonished herself, charging back out of the library. She was definitely going to be late now…

On the way back to the Dungeons, the corridors were empty, signifying that class had started. As she rapidly made her way down a rather dark staircase, her foot slipped.

She knew what was going to happen the second it began. Her feet couldn't find the ground in time, and she fell backwards, her bag falling from her arms and crashing down the remaining stairs. With a painful thump, Hermione's head hit the stone of the staircase. She barely had time to yelp in pain before unconscious took over.

* * *

She awoke to the brightness of the Hospital Wing, and a throbbing headache. There were noises around her, and judging from the light coming through the large windows, it was only an hour or two after noon.

Hermione bolted upright when she remembered what she had been doing. She'd fallen on the stairs… now she was experiencing a terrible headache… and somehow she had ended up in the hospital wing…

Looking to her left, Hermione almost jumped at the sight of Remus Lupin, sitting in a chair beside the bed she was in.

"Hi," he murmured, looking embarrassed and concerned at the same time. His head was tilted in a vaguely sympathizing way.

"What happened?" she asked, rubbing the bump on the back of her head.

"Snape found you passed out at the bottom of a staircase. Apparently one of his students said they heard a crashing sound down the hall." Remus had some parchment in his lap, and a quill beside it. She wondered why he was here…

"Miss Granger!" Another voice came from her right; Hermione noticed that her bed was curtained off from the rest of the Hospital Wing. With her sharp footsteps against the stone floor, Madam Pomfrey entered the little alcove. Her hands were planted firmly on her hips. She looked angry.

"Hello," Hermione greeted the woman meekly, not quite sure why she was being scowled at. She heard Remus chuckle softly behind her, and whipped her head around to scowl at him. He gave her a playful shrug. She rolled her eyes turned back to Madam Pomfrey.

The Matron now had her wand out and was beginning to cast a strange spell over Hermione. She recognized it as a diagnostic spell of some sort. As Pomfrey worked, she began to speak, "You should be taking better care of yourself, Miss Gragner."

Hermione furrowed her brow, "I'm sorry, I don't really know what you mean." Her falling on the staircase had simply been a clumsy accident.

"You're terribly exhausted," Pomfrey explained, "my diagnostic spells show that your energy levels are severely low. You were very close to passing out from exhaustion, plus a lack of a proper meal. When was the last time you had a full night of sleep?"

Hermione chewed her lower lip, and chanced a look over at Remus. She still didn't know why he was here. Pomfrey crossed her arms impatiently. Hermione looked up at the woman, "I've been having trouble sleeping lately… but I'm fine."

"And have you eaten at all today?"

Hermione looked down at her clasped hands, and fiddled with the engagement ring on her finger. She realized that she really hadn't been caring for herself, "I ate some breakfast…" Her voice trailed off. She could feel Remus' eyes on her.

Madam Pomfrey now handed Hermione a potion, "Drink," she ordered, "It will replenish your energy for now, but you need to sleep and eat, Hermione."

She gulped the potion down, "I will, I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey."

The Matron huffed, and bustled off.

Hermione turned to the werewolf sitting beside her, a confused expression on her face. He looked concerned. "How did you know I was here?"

Remus swallowed, "Ginny Weasley actually came to me after her class today. She told me she was concerned about you, and that she heard from Harry that you were in the Hospital Wing."

Of course Ginny would be the one to relay this to Remus. It wasn't like Harry or Ron dared approach him now that he was their best friend's fiancé.

Remus continued, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright, and that I didn't say or do something to freak you out." He chuckled, "I thought maybe you were trying to get yourself concussed, so you didn't have to go through the wedding."

Hermione realized that through his smile, he was actually legitimately worried. "It's nothing you did, and I'm definitely not trying to get out of the wedding," she said sternly.

He nodded, glancing down at the parchment in his lap.

"What are those?" she questioned, taking a glass of water that Madam Pomfrey had just re-entered with.

"Just some essays from my fourth years."

There was silence between them until Madam Pomfrey exited again.

"So why are you so stressed?" He asked cautiously.

Hermione bit her lower lip, shrugging lightly, "There's been a lot to deal with lately."

He nodded, urging her on.

She took a deep breath; "I've barely spoken to Harry or Ron all week, that's probably one of the worst things going on right now. On top of that, I'm seriously falling behind on my schoolwork," She paused, noticing Remus' amused expression, "What?" she questioned sharply.

He shook his head, smiling, "I just can't seem to picture you falling behind on any sort of schoolwork."

Hermione rolled her eyes, but conceded, "Okay, I'm not really behind, I'm just behind for _my_ standards."

"Well," he exhaled, "It seems like some of your problems are about to be solved. Looks like you've got some visitors." He pointed past the curtain and towards the entrance to the Hospital Wing. Hermione leaned forward to get a clear view, and saw Harry and Ron talking to Madam Pomfrey. Her lips pulled into a small smile.

"I should go," he said, standing from his chair and collecting his parchment and quill.

She wanted to tell him that he didn't have to go, and that she had actually enjoyed his company, but she didn't. He probably had other work to do anyways. "Alright," she murmured.

Harry and Ron were approaching. Remus looked at her intently, "Don't worry, this will all blow over soon enough."

She nodded and gave him a weak smile as he left. Just as he passed the curtain, Ron and Harry entered the little alcove. The two boys looked bewildered to see Remus, and turned to watch as he walked past them.

"Hi," Hermione greeted them softly. She was happy to see the boys, especially Ron, whom she had barely talked to all week.

"How are you?" Harry asked, sitting on the edge of her bed. Ron took the chair that Remus had just been sitting in.

She shrugged, "I'm alright, I was just stressed… and then falling down some stairs didn't help my condition."

Harry chuckled, "Well, we wanted to apologize."

Hermione was sure her eyebrows raised almost to her hairline, "Apologize?"

"Yeah, um… I think I need to apologize more than Harry does," Ron grumbled, the tips of his ears growing red.

Hermione nodded, feeling affection for her friends bloom in her chest.

"So I- I'm sorry," Ron said, meeting her eyes, "I guess I was just mad that you have to go through this marriage thing and neither of us could help you."

Hermione lunged forward and grabbed Ron in a hug. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Er, no problem," Ron stammered, pulling away and looking at the ground.

"I want to apologize too," Harry spoke up, "I've been distracted lately and I think that I should have tried to help you more."

"Oh Harry," she waved him off, "You've done nothing wrong, and you've not neglected me at all." She could never really blame him for being distracted, especially when he was going through so much.

The trio lapsed into silence for a moment before Harry cracked a grin. "Did you hear about what happened to Cormac McLaggen at Quidditch tryouts?"

"What?" Hermione questioned warily.

Harry dove into a story of the boy's latest antics, which this time involved him trying to fly over to the stands and kiss some Hufflepuff girl, and of course, crashing into the poor girl and giving her a concussion.

In the back of the Hospital Wing, on a Friday afternoon, Hermione laughed with the boys for the first time in what felt like forever. She was reminded of how valuable the boys were. If she had one goal with this whole marriage thing, it was to not lose her friendship with Harry and Ron.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Review if you'd like. I don't mind just a simple, short review so I know you exist. I'd like to know how many people we've got reading. Also, I'd love to hear about anything you guys like/dislike/want to see in this story.

_Coming up next:_ Get ready because here comes the wedding! And you know what happens _after_ the wedding… *cue suggestive eyebrow waggling*


	6. Vows

With a groan, Hermione opened her eyes to sunlight. She felt blissful in the autumn morning for just a moment, then she remembered that it was Saturday.

_I'm getting married today._

She felt like she was going to vomit. With stiffness in her neck from sleeping poorly, Hermione sat up in bed, feeling a little queasy.

Crookshanks was curled in a ball at the end of her bed. His squished up face watched her lazily.

"Oh, Crooks," she sighed, reaching to scratch him behind the ears, "You're so lucky that you don't have responsibilities. You don't have to deal with weddings and… forced marriages."

The half-Kneazle made a noise somewhere between a purr and a grunt and closed his eyes.

Hermione had been about to retread back under her covers when a knock came at the door to her dormitory. Ginny popped through a moment later, looking around, "Good, Lavender and Parvati aren't here." Ginny stepped inside.

"What's going on?" Hermione questioned warily, rubbing her eyes.

"It's a special day!" Ginny gushed, "I just want to make sure you'll be ready for tonight."

"And…?" Hermione urged the girl on.

"I'm going to help you get ready," Ginny grinned excitedly.

Hermione nodded and swung her legs over the side of the bed, "Well, I'm going to go take a bath, and _then_ you can help me get ready."

"Fine," Ginny said, still smiling, "I'll be back in a little bit." With that, she dashed back down to the Common Room.

Hermione drew herself a bath. The water was hot, and she hissed slightly when she stepped in. She sunk down, finding that the warmth soothed her muscles, but not her nervous jitters.

"I'm getting married today," she said aloud to the empty bathroom. Her chin was just above the water level, her knees poked out in front of her.

Her brain didn't seem to want to shut up. It kept straying to worries about marriage and sex and taking away Remus' freedom. With a frustrated sigh, Hermione sunk even lower, dunking her head beneath the clear water. She held her breath for twenty seconds, counting out each number in her mind, before coming back up for air.

Back above the water, Hermione reached for the soap. As she washed herself, she wondered what Remus would think of her. _They had to have sex_. Sure, she found him attractive, but that didn't quite matter. It all really came down to him. Her biggest worry was that he wouldn't be attracted to her at all.

She examined herself; from her wiry legs to her wild mane of hair. Getting out of the bath, Hermione spelled herself dry and then stood in front of the mirror, examining her hair and her breasts and her hips.

_Would Remus like her at all?_

Her stomach kept dropping out when she imagined what it would be like when the wedding was over. The law stated that they had to do it within six hours of the wedding ceremony, and once a fortnight after that. What if it was terribly awkward?

"_It doesn't matter, Hermione_," she told herself, putting some clothes, "_You're eighteen years old, you're ready for sex."_

Ginny was sitting on Hermione's bed reading a magazine when she stepped back into the dormitory. "Hi," Hermione exhaled.

"Hey," Ginny replied cheerily, looking up from the magazine. Hermione saw _Witch Weekly_ emblazoned on the cover.

"Not to be rude," Hermione began, moving to open her trunk, "but don't you have something to do?"

"Nope," Ginny replied, flipping the magazine down on the bed, "my day is devoted to you."

"Well, there's nothing all that interesting that I'll be doing," Hermione sighed, examining the room, "I suppose I just need to pack my stuff."

Ginny's face fell, "I forgot that you won't be sleeping here anymore."

Hermione shrugged, "I'll still be spending time in the Common Room as much as possible. I only really need to sleep in Remus' room. To be honest, I think moving out of here is the _least_ of my worries…"

* * *

Ginny helped Hermione pack until lunchtime, then the two went to eat with Harry and Ron. The conversation was filled with awkward pauses and glances up at Remus. Hermione looked up about halfway through the meal and caught him looking at her from the staff table. He smiled gently and returned to his meal. Hermione watched him for a long moment after he looked away.

After lunch, Hermione returned to the dormitory while Harry and Ginny went off for a walk by the lake. A couple hours passed by before Ginny returned, "Hermione," she called, entering the dormitory, "time to get ready!"

Hermione bit back a "_Thanks mum"_ and closed her book to look at Ginny. "I've still got at least an hour or two," she said, wondering why the girl thought that getting ready for a casual wedding –they had agreed on no dresses or fancy robes – had to take so long.

"This will take awhile," Ginny explained, "we've got to talk strategy!" the redhead paused, her expression lighting up, "and we need to figure out what knickers you're going to wear!"

Hermione groaned.

* * *

When the evening approached, Hermione felt that her anxiety had reached the peak of it's steady incline. Ginny had prepared her well, but she still felt nervous, especially since Ginny's comments about sex ranged from "It'll probably hurt," to "I can't imagine how hot it will be to shag a professor!"

Ginny had also transfigured Hermione's plain bra and knickers into white lacy things. Hermione put them on with some discomfort, but admitted that she didn't look too bad in them. Ginny squealed over how pretty Hermione looked, but she didn't really see anything different about herself.

Surprisingly, Professor McGonagall arrived at the Common Room to pick her up. Hermione was confused as to why McGonagall had to walk her to Dumbledore's office, but then it dawned on her: they thought she was going to run.

It was a fair precaution to take. To be honest, Hermione had considered running away from all of this, maybe going off to Australia to find her parents. But she would never follow through on such an idea. She would never dream of doing that to Harry.

"See you guys later," Hermione said wearily to Harry and Ron, who had been waiting for her to leave. Ron looked at her in a sad, resigned way that made her heart ache. Just a week ago he had been the boy she thought she would end up with. It was so strange how things had changed.

"Shall we go, Miss Granger?" McGonagall queried.

"Of course," Hermione nodding resolutely. Ginny gave her a sly thumbs-up as she exited through the portrait hole.

There were some students in the corridors, but most were spending their evening outside, enjoying their last days of warm weather. Hermione walked silently next to her teacher, thinking about the fact that she was wearing lacy knickers under her jeans, and that Remus Lupin was going to see them by the end of the night. Her stomach felt like lead.

As the pair arrived outside Dumbledore's office, McGonagall turned to the young witch beside her. "Now Hermione," the Professor began, "I'm sure you're aware that this… ceremony is going to involve some acting. There's a Ministry Official in there, and if he thinks that the marriage is fake, he could very well just void it."

"I understand," Hermione affirmed, setting her face in a straight line.

McGonagall smiled sadly at her student.

"I'll be okay, Professor," she murmured, a brave look on her face.

"Of course you will be," McGonagall assured, "Now, shall we proceed?"

Hermione nodded, took a deep breath, and fell into step behind McGonagall.

* * *

Remus folded his hands in front of himself, needing to do something about his restlessness. He could hear the Gargoyle spinning, and footsteps coming up the stairs. Dumbledore stood in front of him, with a man from the Ministry whose name he had forgotten. Remus hadn't been able to concentrate on anything all day.

The door opened behind him, and Remus turned to look as Minerva entered, followed by Hermione. His first thought was that she looked rather fetching, but he pushed that away from his mind, and instead smiled at her. He needn't have another reason to feel worse and more lecherous about this growing relationship with her.

Hermione stepped forward, and Remus chanced a look at Albus, whose expression seemed to be saying something along the lines of, "get on with the acting."

Remus looked back to the witch, his fiancée, and outstretched his arms. Awkwardly, she hugged him in return, letting him place a kiss on the top of her head and whisper, "Hello, love," just loud enough for the room to hear.

When she pulled back from the hug she was blushing, and he wondered if perhaps he had gone too far with the acting, but another glance at Albus told him otherwise.

The Ministry Official greeted Hermione, stating that his name was Elban Dabney. He was a short, plump man with a content grin. Remus decided that the man had officiated far too many marriages in his lifetime.

"Thank you for what you're doing, Mr. Dabney," Hermione said sweetly, "We really appreciate you coming all the way to Hogwarts for us." Remus watched the girl. She wasn't that bad of an actor.

"Ah, it was no trouble," Dabney assured, "And Albus here is an old friend of mine," he motioned toward the Headmaster.

After a few more moments of small talk, Albus urged Dabney to begin the ceremony. Remus watched out of the corner of his eye as Hermione took a deep breath, almost betraying her calm exterior. He knew she was nervous, and felt bad at the thought that he was partly the reason for all her anxiety. He had absolutely hated seeing her so downtrodden in the hospital wing the previous day.

"Alright, lets begin," Dabney exclaimed, leading into an explanation of the magical ceremony he was about to perform.

Remus could still vividly remember most of the magical weddings he had attended when he was younger, especially James and Lily's. Theirs had been the best of any in his youth. He remembered the binding ceremony the most; the way they grinned at each other and the laughter that broke out when Sirius catcalled as they kissed. Remus sighed.

"Now, Albus has told me that we will be making this a shorter ceremony today, so I've cut down some of the more menial aspects of the procedure. We'll begin with the binding, alright?" The man trilled, enchanting a small, arcane book to float in front of him. Out of it fell a ribbon, white and flickering with magic.

Remus held up his left hand, and after a moment, Hermione did as well. He realized that the first magical wedding she had probably ever seen was Bill and Fleur's over the summer. She probably wasn't very familiar with the procedures.

Dabney explained the process in detail, but Remus didn't pay much attention. He couldn't quite concentrate, and he kept bringing himself back to memories of James and Lily and their wedding. This left him with a hallow sort of feeling that tended to catch him when he thought of them.

"Now," Dabney exhaled, "Join hands, please."

Remus grasped Hermione's small hand in his, watching her closely. She looked nervous and a little pale. They met eyes and gave her a small nod, trying to show her that she was doing well.

Dabney slowly levitated the ribbon so that it wrapped around their joined hands. As it set in place, a small glow of magic picked up, illuminating the ribbon. Hermione was watching intensely. He could tell that she was fascinated by the magic before her.

Dabney began his eloquent, rehearsed wedding speech, reading from the book in front of him. Remus listened, waiting for his vows. He said "I do" when it was his turn, and watched as she did the same, a brave look on her face.

Remus glanced over to Albus, who was now standing beside Minerva. They both looked intently focused on the ceremony.

Next, Dabney rattled off the magical binding words. Remus watched as Hermione focused on what the man was saying, her brow furrowing with the last sentence. He recognized that look of academic intrigue as something he had seen many times in his classroom.

That probably wasn't a thought he should have been pondering on. He really needed to let go of the fact that she was his student.

"I bind you, Remus Lupin and Hermione Granger, to a life of love, prosperity, and support. With this spell, you are binded."

His wand flicked ever so slightly, and the ribbon around their hands lit brilliantly. Hermione's eyes grew wide, and even Remus had to appreciate the magic. It hadn't seemed this beautiful when James and Lily had gotten married.

Streaks of brilliant white swirled around their joined hands. Remus felt the prickle of magic on his skin, moving up his arm in waves of intensity. The magic glowed and shimmered, and when it ceased, the ribbon was gone. He peeked up at Hermione; she looked more or less awed.

Their hands fell unclasped, and Remus examined the wedding band that had appeared on his ring finger, still illuminated slightly by magic. The Ministry had been supplying charmed wedding bands for a long time. Hermione now wore a similar, more feminine one in addition to her engagement ring. For a moment, he was suspicious of what kind of magic the Ministry had set on these rings, but shook it off. Surely Dumbledore had thought everything through.

Dabney cleared his throat, and Remus was drawn from his thoughts. The man coughed, and motioned towards Hermione. Remus belatedly realized he was supposed to kiss her. He'd forgotten that Wizarding marriages didn't have the classic "You may now kiss the bride" phrase.

Hermione was looking at him expectantly, as if urging him on. Her eyes danced with a strange sort of excitement, so different from her previous anxiety. Remus was relieved at this. He had been thinking that she wouldn't want to kiss him at all, but here she was, looking enthusiastic.

Remus leaned forward, his throat tightening somewhat, and placed a tentative hand on the side of her face. He looked into her eyes for a moment, searching them for any sort of trepidation.

Suddenly, she took initiative, and leaned into his lips.

The kiss was chaste and quick, but Remus found that he was delighted by the way she grinned at him, and the way her lips had felt on his. He knew that she was acting, and that's why she looked so happy. He also knew that he shouldn't have enjoyed kissing her that much, but he couldn't resist the thoughts.

She was… invigorating. He wanted to kiss her again. Perhaps it was the wolf making him so impulsive. Without much thought, he leaned in once more and kissed her swiftly, perhaps with a little less innocence than she had kissed him. One of her hands instinctually moved to his shoulder, resting there for just a moment. He could feel the heat through his shirt.

Remus pulled away feeling guilty and embarrassed for his actions. However, her apparent delight quelled his nerves. Still, he didn't dare look up at Albus or Minerva.

"Wonderful!" Dabney chimed, "You two are quite the picture of happiness."

"Thank you, Mr. Dabney," Hermione said merrily. She reached for Remus' hand and interlaced her fingers in his. She now stood beside him, her shoulder brushing his.

"We greatly appreciate you doing this for us," Remus said, extending his free hand to shake Dabney's.

"Ah, of course, it was a pleasure, but I really must get back to the Ministry now." He glanced at his wristwatch and nodded, turning to his right, "Albus, it was good to see you."

"And yourself," Albus replied, outstretching his strangely blackened hand to shake.

Dabney looked to Hermione and Remus before he left, "As regulation, I must remind you, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin," Remus felt Hermione stiffen a little beside him, "that you have six hours to fulfill the wedding vows."

Remus nodded curtly, and felt Hermione shift beside him.

Dabney departed through the floo. The Headmaster's office was filled with an awkward silence. Remus didn't drop Hermione's hand, and found himself relieved that she didn't drop his.

Dumbledore broke the silence, clasping his hands together, "That went very well, thank you both for your cooperation."

Remus didn't think that he could have _not_ cooperated in a situation like this.

"Now," Albus exhaled, "Miss Granger—or, should I say, Mrs. Lupin, your things have been moved to Remus' rooms. I doubt that many students will be out in the corridors, so it should be safe for the two of you to walk there."

Remus saw Hermione nod out of the corner of his eye.

It seemed like Albus was eager to get them on their way. Within a few moments, Minerva hugged Hermione goodbye, and they were walking down a dim, empty corridor to Remus' rooms.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Writing this was more difficult than I initially thought, but not to worry, I made it through. Also, sorry that I had to cut it off there, but I wanted to post this chapter now. Not to worry, you'll get your wedding night very soon.

_Coming up Next_: I suspect you know _exactly_ what's up next…


	7. Only By The Night

Just want to warn you: this chapter gets smutty…

* * *

It was fair to say that Hermione was incredibly anxious. Her palms were clammy and her stomach was flipping about. Plus, she kept glancing around every corner they turned, checking for students.

"You alright?" Remus asked. He was walking beside her, his hands in his pockets.

"I'm fine," she said quickly, her trill voice betraying the calm exterior she was trying to put up.

They were closing in on his rooms. She could see the doorway only a few feet ahead. "It's okay to be nervous," he said softly, turning his head to glance at her.

Now they were standing outside the door to his office. Hermione stopped and turned to face him. She took a deep breath and spoke, "I'm a virgin."

Remus' eyebrows shot up. She didn't know if it was surprise at what she had said or the fact that she had said it. He swallowed, and she could see his Adam's apple bob, "I- ah- I figured that would be the case."

A terribly heated blush filled her cheeks.

"Come on," he murmured, opening the door and then leading them through another door, into his private quarters.

Upon entering, Hermione first noticed that her trunk was by the door, and that Crookshanks was curled up in front of the fireplace. She smiled, happy to have her beloved familiar with her.

"Why don't you sit down," Remus offered, pointing towards the couch in front of the fire, "I'll get some tea. Would you like some?" He acted like their awkward exchange hadn't just happened.

She thought that tea sounded excellent, "Please," she croaked out.

He moved to the other side of the room, crossing in front of the fire on his way, noticing Crookshanks' prone form. He studied the creature for a moment before speaking, "I'd forgotten that this was your cat." There was a hint of disdain in his tone, which Hermione knew was the result of their shared summer at Grimmauld Place. Crookshanks had been annoying to every member of the household.

"Don't worry, he'll grow on you," Hermione chimed, her lips curling up in a slight smile.

He sighed and continued off to get them tea, proceeding to the desk that was placed in the corner. It was similar to the desk in his office, but smaller, and seemed to not hold as many papers for grading, or things of that sort. There was a tea set on it, and Remus began to fiddle with it.

While he prepared the tea, Hermione's eyes roamed around the room. There wasn't much decoration, except for a few Gryffindor colored items. There was a window off to her left, which opened up to the wide expanse of night and provided a pretty view of the Black Lake. Behind her, there were two doors: one, which she presumed led to his bedroom, and the other, which likely led to a bathroom.

Hermione's eyes fell on her trunk, and it was now that she noticed a small purple bottle sitting atop her luggage. She got up from the couch and quietly moved to inspect it. Remus was still working on the tea, and didn't notice her movements.

The bottle appeared to be a potion, and had a note tied to it.

_Miss Granger,_

_This is a birth control potion. You must take it prior to your consummation. It is effective for twenty-four hours. In the future, I will provide you with a more potent potion, so you shouldn't have to take one every time. But for now, make sure you drink this._

_Poppy Pomfrey_

Hermione chewed her lip, glancing over at Remus. She quickly uncorked the bottle and lifted it to her lips, gulping it down. It tasted strangely like strawberries, which was a welcome change from the usual abhorrent taste of potions.

With a silent spell, she vanished the empty bottle and moved back to the couch. Remus was just finishing up. She sat down and listened to him levitating the cups over to the couch. He came around the front of the couch with a bottle of what appeared to be Firewhiskey in his hand. Hermione's eyes widened.

He could see her reaction to the bottle in his hand and chuckled, "Don't worry, I'm not trying to get you drunk or anything. Just wondering if you want any in your tea."

"Firewhiskey? _In my tea_?" Her eyebrows pulled in.

He grinned, "I thought maybe a pinch of liquid courage might do us some good." He placed the tea down, then gave her a thoughtful look, "You don't have to have any, of course. I didn't- I don't mean to pressure you or anything."

"_'Liquid courage'_?" she quoted, eyeing the bottle.

He smiled for a moment before a somber look overcame him. "At least that's what Sirius used to call it." There was a darkness in his expression that she hadn't seen in a long time.

Hermione felt her heart pinch. She could see the path he was going down, and knew that she needed to interrupt it. "I'll try a little," she proposed, extending her tea cup to him.

He smiled, and poured just a pinch into her cup, then the same into his. Finally, he levitated the bottle back over to a cupboard next to his desk. The couch dipped slightly as he sat down. She noted that there was a very proper amount of space between them, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she was wishing that he had sat a little closer.

Hermione sipped her tea and noticed the slight bite added to the normal taste. It was a surprisingly good mixture. Remus appeared to be glad that she didn't spit it out in disgust.

"So how big is your alcohol stash?" she asked conversationally.

He chuckled, "you'd be surprised by how little alcohol I have around here. However, in the beginning of the year, Fred and George _did _come around quite often to drop off all sorts of liquor. Merlin knows why."

"I seem to remember them having an impressive stash back at the Burrow," she mused.

"Oh, and do you know this from firsthand experience?" his eyes had lit up with mirth.

"I'll have you know that I've never been drunk before in my life," Hermione said primly.

"I can't say I'm surprised by that," he hummed, sipping his tea, "seems like you kids get into much less trouble than I ever did at Hogwarts."

"You _were_ a trouble maker, then?" she questioned.

"Not particularly, no. However, I tended to get into my fair share of trouble simply because of who I was friends with." He gazed into the fireplace, a fond, yet nostalgic look on his face.

Hermione was happy that they were having such an easy conversation. She wet her lips with her tongue, watching him closely. He was still staring off into the fire, probably reminiscing in some memory. With a discreet glance outside, she noted that the moon had rose and it was getting late.

Her tea was now almost empty. The Firewhiskey hadn't affected her that much, but she felt that "Liquid courage" was an apt phrase, considering what she was about to do, and how prepared she felt to do it.

He still watched the fire as she shifted her body closer to him. Without a chance for hesitation, she moved to kiss him.

Her lips landed on the corner of his mouth. It only lasted for a brief second, and then she pulled back.

He turned to look at her, a deep and thoughtful expression on his face. She was reminded of the two previous kisses they had shared in Dumbledore's office. The idea of him kissing her again made her heart race.

As if answering her prayers, Remus lifted a hand up to slowly cup her cheek, then pull her in. This kiss was one of experience and confidence. She opened her mouth to him quickly, and found that kissing with tongue was not as terrible as it had been with Viktor. She didn't hold anything against Viktor, but he _had_ left something to be desired in the realm of French kissing.

But Remus… he kissed with intimacy and softness. He didn't rush anything at all; just let Hermione slowly become reduced to jelly in his arms.

After a little while, the awkward position was getting to her. She was leaning over the couch, her back twisted in order to face him. She scooted towards him more, and he seemed to realize her discomfort. In one movement he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her so that she was sitting on his lap, straddling him.

Hermione felt like she could squeal at this advance. She couldn't imagine what Ginny would say if she knew what was going on at that moment.

With the new position, his kisses were now fully exhilarating. His hands were on her hips, holding her in place. Her legs were on either side of him, knees folded under, with her arms wound around his neck.

More attention was paid to her bottom lip, and Remus must have figured out that she loved it. He nibbled at her lip in the most pleasing way, prompting her to let out a contented sigh. Hermione's previous nervousness was nearly gone; everything was just filled with a strange sort of excitement, especially when he began to move his hands up and down her sides.

"We should go to my bedroom," Remus said gruffly, pulling back so he could look at her.

The previous nervousness now made an appearance. Hermione tried to resist looking anxious, but he was watching her closely. "Okay," she murmured softly.

Getting off of his lap, Hermione blushed at the position they had just been in. He stood up from the couch next, and took her hand, leading her towards his bedroom.

It was a small room that was rather dark at the moment. Hermione didn't look around much, just focused on the bed and the fact that she was about to have sex with Professor Lupin.

It was all so strange and surreal and… _exciting_.

He turned and looked at her, taking a step closer to study her expression. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Hermione took a deep breath, steadying herself, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"I know this isn't how you imagined your first time to be," he let out a sigh, "and I know you didn't plan on doing this with me," he frowned sadly.

She was stuck by how little he thought of himself. How could he believe himself to be so low and undesirable? She could see it in his eyes, and she desperately wanted to express to him how desirable he was. "It doesn't matter," she asserted, stopping him in his tracks, "I want to do this with you… it's exciting."

His expression lightened significantly, and without warning, he leaned down to kiss her again.

Over the course of a few seconds, she found herself closer to the bed. Hermione lifted her knees onto the bed behind her, so that she was kneeling, still tall enough to reach his lips. He stood beside the bed, his hands entangling in her hair, which was probably wild and unmanageably curly.

Acting on impulse, her hands went to the top button of his shirt, which she began to undo. He accepted her advance and continued kissing. It took her awhile to get to the third button because her hands were shaking. She cursed herself for not being able to calm her fidgety fingers. Remus noticed her struggle and stopped kissing her. He grasped his hands in hers, smiling lightly. Then, he proceeded to undo the buttons of his shirt, one by one.

She wanted to prove that she wasn't a nervous, naïve little kid. It was because of this that Hermione decided to pull her jumper off. She relished in the surprised expression that overtook his face.

He finished removing his shirt, and Hermione felt a deep, painful ache in her chest at the sight of all his scars. He was obviously gauging her reaction. "It's easiest to ignore them," he finally muttered, seeming ashamed.

Hermione wanted to tell him that they were not something to be ignored. They looked terribly painful and she felt horrible that he had gone through so many transformations in his life. However, they also made him look rather handsome in a rugged, manly sort of way. She decided to tell him that.

"Handsome?" he repeated after her, a single brow raised.

Hermione grinned shyly and nodded before reaching out to pull him closer.

His hands were more exploratory now, and it left her panting. He skimmed her sides, his fingers brushing over the sides of her breasts through her bra. She reciprocated the teasing by pushing her body up against his. The bare skin of her abdomen met with the bare skin of his in the most delightful way. For a moment, she was inclined to wonder if in the future he would want to do this more than just once a fortnight. It was definitely something Hermione wanted like a repeat of.

He was climbing on the bed now, and she was pulling him on top of her, laying both of them down. It was a marvelous feeling when his lips slipped from her mouth and went to her neck, then her shoulders, then her sternum, then the tops of her breasts. Hermione was breathing shallowly, watching him closely.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice breathy and gruff. His hand tentatively found the clasp of her bra and began to undo it.

"God, yes," she exhaled, arching into his mouth once her breasts were exposed.

His mouth fell to her hard nipples, and that was when she really started moaning. This whole encounter was absolutely better than any fantasy she had ever come up with on her own. It was strange how sexually compatible they seemed. They hadn't even had sex yet, but she just _knew_ it would be fantastic, if not today then at least in the near future.

His hands slipped down to the button of her jeans. He undid them quickly and then began to tug on them. She laughed at his difficulty, realizing that her jeans were probably a little too tight. With a final pull, he removed the thick fabric, taking her knickers with it.

She watched his eyes travel up and down her naked form, and felt a shiver of embarrassment when his eyes rested on the apex of her thighs. She blushed and shifted to close her legs.

His eyes went back up to meet hers. "You've nothing to be embarrassed of," he murmured.

The words sent shivers down her spine. "Neither do you," she whispered the breathy response.

He pulled himself forward, kissing her lips with a new, reckless lust. The idea that she was naked and lying under her Professor made her achingly wet. When she felt his covered erection brush against her thigh she lost in, pushing her hips upwards in a desperate attempt for friction.

He chuckled and moved down from her lips, back to her nipples. Hermione gasped as he licked and bit and sucked. This was absolutely hotter than any fantasy she had ever come up with in her mind.

His hand, which had been gripping her hip, now moved inwards, tracing the line of her pelvis, before finding her center. She let out a little squeak upon realization of what he was doing. Nobody had ever touched her there, but it felt glorious. His hand expertly dipped between her folds, causing her to lose all sense of propriety. Within only a short amount of time she was gasping and arching her back into him lasciviously.

"Mmmm," he groaned, "you're so wet."

His words carried her further towards the edge. "Please, Remus," she wined, needing more friction.

He obliged, moving his hand faster and slipping a finger inside her wet heat. She came gasping his name, her head falling back and her eyes slammed shut.

When she opened her eyes he was pulling off his trousers, looking at her with such intensity that she was all fired up again. He pulled off his boxers, allowing her to get a look at his naked form. He was anatomically larger than she had expected a man to be, and she didn't quite know how this _wasn't_ going to hurt.

Remus moved back on top of her. She kissed him lazily, slowly coming back from her orgasm with renewed vigor. His hand fell back down to her center, dipping a finger inside of her.

She kissed him with the intensity that he had shown her a few moments ago. She could feel his erection brushing against her stomach. It was a little frightening, but very arousing.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his lips on her neck, one hand tracing her nipple while the other went to his erection.

This was it, the moment of truth. A week of stress had led up to this moment, and she was surprised to find that she was more excited than anything. She _wanted_ him.

"Yeah," she breathed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I'm ready."

He moved to position himself between her thighs, pulling her legs so that her knees were bent. He looked up to meet her eyes for a long moment, "this might hurt. I'm sorry." Even though his tone was apologetic and cautious she could see the unbridled lust in his eyes.

"Just do it," she said, placing her other hand on his shoulder.

He nodded, kissed her sweetly, and began to move in.

It felt good at first, when he was just edging in, but then the pain came. Hermione screwed her eyes shut, digging her fingers into his shoulders. He moved faster, she figured he was trying to get it over with quickly. It hurt a lot, and she prayed that the discomfort would stop sometime soon.

His movements eventually waned, and the pain dissipated some. Hermione took deep breaths, getting accustomed to the stretch. Finally, she opened her eyes, finding herself staring up at the plain ceiling. Remus' head was buried in the pillow beside hers. She could feel the deep breaths he took in an attempt to control himself.

"Remus," she said, her voice almost a groan, "keep going."

He exhaled and began to move out slowly, and then back in again. Hermione winced with the first few tentative thrusts, but the pain dissipated with time. Soon she began to feel little jolts of pleasure when he rocked within her.

He continued moving, kissing her neck and letting out shallow breaths. A hazy lust started to overcome her pain. She wanted _more_. In a quick movement, Hermione picked up her legs and wrapped them around his waist, hooking her ankles together. He seemed to get the hint and started moving faster.

There was still pain, but Hermione found herself moaning when he drove into her. He moved faster and she urged him on with moans, digging her nails into his shoulders when she felt pain.

Soon it became too much for him, and she could feel his orgasm approaching through his uneven breathing. With several thrusts, their hips connected at a faster, sloppy pace. The pleasure allowed for a flutter of an orgasm to pulse through Hermione, but she couldn't be completely distracted from the pain. Nevertheless, she still threw her head back in the heat of the moment, slamming her eyes shut.

Remus grunted out her name, coming inside of her with one last, shallow thrust. Hermione could feel his face fall back into the pillow next to her head. He was breathing heavily, coming down from his high. She focused on the noise he had made, his groans of pleasure and whisper of her name. The sounds of him losing control were perhaps the most enjoyable part of the whole experience, beside the orgasm part of course.

He pulled away after a long moment, falling with a thump onto the mattress beside her. She realized that her fingernails had left quite a dent in his shoulders, but he seemed to not care.

"Did I hurt you?" Remus asked, turning to look at her with a quickly rising and falling chest.

Hermione shook her head, waving him off lazily.

She stared up at the ceiling, feeling a blush on her cheeks. She had acted quite lustful in the heat of the moment, and knew that she would probably be embarrassed by her actions in the morning. But after all, he had lost himself too, and she had loved it.

"You're sure you're alright?" He asked tentatively.

Hermione smiled at him, warmed by his concern. "I'm wonderful," she yawned, "Tired, but wonderful."

He reached to the bedside table for his wand. With a flick of his wrist, the covers had appeared above the two of them. Hermione smiled and quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Well that was quite long. I hope you enjoyed. The title of this chapter is credited to a Kings of Leon album of the same name.

_Coming up next: _We'll see how these two lovebirds deal with their morning after.


	8. Post-Wedding Bliss?

Hermione awoke very early in the morning. It was still dark outside, but dawn seemed to be approaching. She found herself in a very interesting position, only understanding how she had arrived there after remembering the previous night.

The bed was warm, but the room was a little cold. Hermione had burrowed into the side of Remus' chest, and one of his arms was draped around her waist. She wondered if they had both unconsciously moved into this position as they slept.

They were both still very naked. Her breasts were sort of mashed into the side of his chest, and her legs brushed against his. Hermione smiled and remained where she was, not wanting to move away from him just yet.

The previous night had been much better than she had expected. Hermione's anxiety levels had been at an all time high, but Remus had slowly quelled them away. She had never thought that sex could actually be that _good_, and Remus and her still had to deal with all the awkwardness of being forced together, plus the discomfort she went through with losing her virginity. Hermione wondered if maybe they were just sexually compatible. Ginny had talked about it the other day; how that kind of chemistry was one of the most important things in a relationship.

Hermione yawned and shifted about in bed, realizing that she was rather sore, not to mention tired. Not wanting to wake Remus up, she slowly burrowed herself closer to him and shut her eyes.

* * *

Remus woke up groggily, as was the normal morning routine for him. The only thing that was different about this morning was the fact that there was a naked young witch in his bed, and she appeared to have pulled herself as close to him as humanly possible. He repressed a chuckle and examined her for a moment.

Hermione was fast asleep, pressed up into his side. Her wild hair was now more curly and untamed as ever. It frayed around her face in a sort of halo, and tickled his arm.

Her breath was steady, signifying the deep state of sleep she was in. Remus decided that he probably ought to get up and shower, that would be the easiest way to avoid an awkward start to the morning. Waking up naked together would probably leave her at least a little flustered and embarrassed, and the last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable.

Remus got out of bed and made his way into the attached bathroom. He showered quickly, but still gave himself time to think about what had happened last night. He was very worried about how she felt, and if she was okay with everything that had happened. He had let himself go a little in the heat of the moment, but the instincts of the wolf had come out, and he'd never been very good at calming the wolf within him. When the wolf wanted something, he usually got it; and the wolf had wanted Hermione, very badly.

Remus stepped out of the bathroom to find the bed empty. Proceeding into the sitting area of his rooms, he found Hermione dressed and fiddling with her haphazard hair. She glanced up at him when he entered, and the awkwardness that set in was almost tangible. Remus cringed at Hermione's obvious embarrassment.

"Are you alright?" He asked impulsively, knowing that he had asked this question far too many times.

"I'm fine," she smiled cheerily, "and you?"

He was surprised by her apparent contentment, despite the embarrassment she had just displayed. "Ah- yes, I'm fine as well," he stuttered.

"Good," she grinned. "I'm going to head to the Great Hall now… do you want to come?"

"I'll head over in a few minutes," he murmured, "go ahead without me."

"Okay," she murmured, hesitating for a moment by the door before leaving.

Remus watched the door close behind her. He then glanced at the room around him, which now seemed quite different in the wake of all that they had done the previous night. He spotted her ginger ball of fur curled up in his favorite armchair. The cat seemed to be glaring at him as if it knew everything that had gone on last night, which it probably did.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Remus huffed, turning away from the incriminating half-Kneazle.

* * *

Hermione put on a calm, collected expression when she entered the Great Hall. Harry, Ron, and Ginny were sitting together at their normal spot at the head table. Harry and Ginny were very close to each other, and Ron seemed significantly uncomfortable by the way they were gazing into each other's eyes.

Hermione sat down, feeling all three pairs of eyes shift to her. She looked up and found three distinct expressions on the faces of her friends. Ginny was beaming excitedly, Ron looked angry, and Harry just looked tremendously uncomfortable.

Before any of the four could speak, their space was cut into by Lavender, sliding into the bench next to Hermione.

"Is that a wedding ring?" Lavender gaped.

Hermione blanched, looking to Ginny for help. Before Giinny could respond, however, Lavender had continued, "Hermione," the blonde gasped, "you've gotten married!"

Hermione's stomach plummeted. Now that Lavender knew about it surely the whole school would. Lavender was the biggest gossip she knew. The girl could _never_ know that Hermione's husband was professor Lupin.

"So who is it?" Lavender questioned giddily.

Luckily, Ginny swooped in with a glare and an assertive, "It's none of your business Lavender."

"Fine," Lavender sighed, "I was just excited for you, Hermione. I can't wait until _I_ can get married." With that, the girl slid back down the table.

"Thanks, Ginny," Hermione muttered, reaching for a muffin.

"No problem," Ginny replied, once again grinning at Hermione knowingly. After a moment, the redhead leaned in, "So, _how are you_?"

"Fine," Hermione replied tightly, giving the girl a look of warning.

Ginny beamed and turned the conversation to the local gossip: apparently one of the Slytherin girls had been dating two boys at once, both of which had proposed. The love triangle was apparently the talk of the school. Hermione was glad for this, because it would probably take the attention off of her and her "mystery husband".

A few moments later, Hermione spotted Remus enter the front of the Hall. He sat beside Snape, who looked the werewolf up and down with disdain. She watched Remus for a few moments before her attention was called back to the conversation.

"We need to talk about my meeting with Dumbledore," Harry said quietly, a sudden seriousness in his demeanor.

"What happened?" Hermione whispered.

"We talked about the visions I've been getting," Harry muttered, "and my connection with Voldemort."

Harry began to explain what he and Dumbledore had discussed. Hermione found it strange how the Headmaster was apparently so cautious and grave when dealing with Harry, yet cheerful and excited when dealing with Hermione and Remus.

Apparently Dumbledore thought that these visions of Voldemort would come in handy. Voldemort was searching for something important, and these visions would let Harry and Dumbledore know how close he was to obtaining said object. Hermione didn't like the idea of allowing this connection to continue, and told Harry so.

"I know," he said, running a hand through his messy hair, "I don't really like it either, but it's important, and Dumbledore knows what he's doing."

Hermione thought Dumbledore had been rather manipulative lately, but withheld the idea from Harry. They had more important things to worry about than Dumbledore's behavior.

After finishing the discussion, Hermione left her friends. She had to go to the library and finish up her homework; but first, she needed a long bath. She was sore and achy, thus a bath in the prefect's bathroom seemed like the perfect idea.

* * *

Hermione returned to Remus' rooms late in the evening. She'd spent most of her day doing work and hanging around the Common Room. Shortly after dinner, she had realized that she had to go back to face Remus eventually.

He was grading papers on the couch in front of the fireplace. His eyes lifted up to her as she entered.

"Hi," she murmured.

"Hi," he replied.

There was a stretch of silence in which Hermione desperately looked for something to say to him.

"You can unpack your clothes if you want to," he said, pointing to her trunk, which still sat near the door.

"Oh, of course," Hermione started toward her trunk.

"There's plenty of room for your things in the closet and dresser, so you should be fine. Do you want me to help?"

Hermione shook her head, "You don't have to, just continue as you were. Pretend I'm not even here."

He smiled wryly as she levitated her trunk into his bedroom.

With the door closed behind her, Hermione was able to really inspect his room. She didn't mean to snoop through his stuff, but he _had_ given her permission to unpack in his closet and dresser.

It seemed that he didn't own much clothing, and she felt a pang in her chest at the sparse amount that inhabited the closet and dresser. She vowed to buy him a brand new set of robes for Christmas.

His room was generally neat. Hermione was quite amused when she found a whole drawer of his bedside table devoted to just Honeyduke's chocolate. She wondered if he might find out if she stole a piece, and ultimately decided to leave his coveted chocolate alone.

"I'm done," she said, entering the sitting area to find Remus in the same place she had left him. He had plenty of papers to grade, and she hoped that she wasn't disturbing him.

He smiled up at her, "you're welcome to grab a book if you'd like."

She noticed the bookshelf, and approached, finding that there were plenty of interesting titles held there. She grabbed a book on Lycanthropy and walked back over to the couch.

"How are you with your schoolwork?" He asked conversationally, watching her sit on the couch beside him.

"Ahead as always," she grinned cheekily, "even in your class."

"Ah, but I thought I had been challenging you."

"You're trying, I'll give you that," Hermione murmured, paging through the book in her lap.

He laughed, throwing his head back in a youthful manner. Hermione couldn't help but smile along with him. She was delighted that they were getting along, despite the awkwardness floating just beneath the surface.

"So how do you like being back teaching at Hogwarts?" she asked.

Remus smiled fondly, "It's wonderful, I'd forgotten why I enjoyed it so much all those years ago."

Hermione watched his expression closely. He seemed happy, despite the fact that he'd just been forced into a binding marriage with an eighteen-year-old student of his.

They lapsed into silence. Hermione began to read the book she had picked up. She could hear Remus' occasional scribbling notes on the papers he was grading. When he wasn't looking, she snuck a few glances at him, unable to just concentrate on the book.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, eyes not leaving the paper in front of him.

Hermione hesitated for a moment before speaking. "I was just thinking: what are we going to do if– _when_ someone finds out about this?"

He sighed deeply, "I think we'll just need to keep up the acting, make people believe that it's all real."

She nodded, "I suppose that's all we can really do."

"Are you worried about people finding out?"

It felt like his question held more weight than it was supposed to. He seemed to be asking if she was worried about people finding out that _he_ was her husband. Remus Lupin, the old werewolf professor as her husband. He probably thought she would be embarrassed of him.

"I don't think I'd mind too terribly, I'd just hate hearing about it from the other girls, what with all their gossip about every single wedding that's taken place. Our marriage is pretty high profile compared to the others, so I doubt we would hear the end of it anytime soon."

He seemed reassured by her answer, but she could still see the underlying concern over what she thought of him. It was just like the previous night, when he had been so shameful of his scars. Hermione decided right then and there that she was going to change the way he looked at himself. He deserved it after everything he'd been through.

Silence filled the room as the two once again continued their separate activities.

* * *

It was at least two hours later when Remus noticed that Hermione had fallen asleep. The book she had chosen was perched precariously on her knee, and her head was propped against the cushions of the couch. He watched her for a few long moments; her chest rose and fell slowly, and her expression was just as peaceful as it had been that morning.

Remus sighed and stood from the couch. He considered waking her up, but decided not to. Instead, he gently picked her up from the couch. She was light in his arms, and didn't stir, just let her head fall back against his chest. He carried her into the bedroom and placed her in bed. She was still sound asleep.

He wanted to give her space and be as proper as possible. Despite their forged intimacy the previous night, Remus was still wary about making her uncomfortable. To be honest, he wasn't brave enough to take the chance and climb into bed next to her.

Remus slowly made his way back into the sitting area, lying on the couch and thinking how brave and accepting she had been. She was so incredibly courageous, and here he was, not even brave enough to sleep beside her in bed.

* * *

_Coming up next: _A bit of a bump in the road…


	9. Exposed

Hermione yawned, stretching her arms above her head and opening her eyes to Remus' bedroom. Or, she supposed it was _her_ bedroom as well now. Looking around, she noted that the bed was empty, and there was no evidence of him having slept there the previous night.

After a quickly cast _Tempus_ charm, Hermione realized that she had twenty minutes before she ought to be at breakfast. She decided that since the bathroom was empty, she would take a shower.

She showered quickly, and then brushed her teeth and hair before dressing for the day. When she exited the bathroom, she found Remus heading her way, obviously trying to get to the bathroom.

Hermione stopped in the doorway, crossing her arms and blocking his path. "Did you sleep on the couch last night?" She questioned suspiciously.

Remus was still partially asleep. He ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, "Yeah. I- ah- I wanted to give you space."

The thought that he had slept on the couch to give her space was both sweet and irritating. Hermione shook her head firmly, "It's your bed. You should be sleeping in it." Without another word, she left the room, headed for breakfast.

* * *

In Charms that afternoon, Hermione found herself very much enjoying Flitwick's lecture on extension charms. She had practiced this over the summer numerous times with her beaded bag, but it was still intriguing to hear the uses. It was when the professor set them loose to practice extension charms that her mood dropped. Lavender and Parvati instantly shifted closer to Hermione, eager to hound her about her mystery husband. This had been happening on and off since they had discovered her marriage. She was lucky none of the teachers knew to call her "Mrs. Lupin" yet.

"So, Hermione, will you tell us who your husband is?" Parvati queried excitedly.

Hermione could feel Ron and Harry's simultaneous glares at the girl, but she waved them off. She could deal with this herself.

"I'm sorry, Parvati, but it's really none of your business," She said firmly, looking down at her notes.

Parvati deflated, but Lavender was persistent, "C'mon, Hermione, you can't expect us to just ignore the fact that you haven't slept in the dormitory the past two nights. We just want to know who the lucky bloke is, and we promise not to tell anyone."

"It's not something I want you to know," she snapped, her voice louder and more assertive, "Dumbledore has allowed me to stay in separate rooms with my husband just like the law requires. That's all there is to it."

Neville, who was sitting at the desk in front of them, turned around with a shocked expression. "You have a _husband_?" He looked vaguely horrified. She cringed at the realization that she hadn't been particularly quiet in her conversation with the girls. Most of the nearby students were staring at her, waiting for somebody to say who her husband was. Hermione buried her head in her hands exasperatedly.

Luckily, Harry and Ron came to the rescue, snapping at people to "Shut up and get back to your charms," as Ron had so eloquently put it. Hermione mouthed a thank-you at Ron and returned to her work. She was so glad that they had been able to make up, even if there was still some anger and awkwardness between them.

That evening, Hermione returned to Remus' rooms and told him how terrible Lavender and Parvati were acting. "Teenage girls are just horrid gossips," she ranted, falling into the couch across from him.

"Ah, I know from experience how terrible seventh year girls can be," he stated with a wry smile, "at least I didn't get roped into marrying one of _those_ girls."

Hermione chuckled, "Oh, yes, and of course you're _so_ lucky to be married to me instead, the school's know-it-all bookworm."

He ignored her slight self-deprecation and smiled charmingly, "and I wouldn't have it any other way."

She was grinning in a silly sort of manner as she retreated to the bedroom to change. They seemed to be on good terms, and she hoped that he wouldn't sleep on the couch again tonight. Luckily, though, she had no need to worry. Several minutes after getting in bed, she heard Remus slip in to the room and climb in beside her. Even though there was an unordinary amount of space between them, she was happy to have him there.

* * *

The week progressed without anything of consequence, at least until Wednesday morning. Hermione had been so delighted with how their relationship was progressing into a sort of friendship, but then it all fell through when their secret was exposed.

She was in breakfast, peacefully skimming her Ancient Runes essay one last time. Suddenly Lavender bustled down the table, leaning between Harry and Ginny, who were sitting across from Hermione, and thrusting a copy of the _Prophet_ down on the table. "Professor Lupin?" She trilled, a shocked but exhilarated expression on her face.

Hermione blanched, looking at Lavender with abject horror. Her eyes traveled down to the _Prophet_, and she noticed the title of the cover story.

**Scrimgeour's Marriage Law Garners A Variety of Scandalous Marriages**

She groaned, knowing that she was surely going to be mentioned in that article at least once. Her marriage was no doubt one of the most scandalous of all. She swallowed dryly and looked to her friends. Ginny and Ron had gone stiff. Harry reached for the paper so he could read it.

"What does it say?" Hermione asked, her voice hoarse.

Harry began to read, a harrowing look on his face. "_A little over a week after the shocking announcement of Scrimgeour's Marriage Law, the Ministry of Magic has released the names of all couples that have been bonded so far. The list includes many shocking and suspicious pairs, including perhaps the most shocking of all: Hermione Granger, Muggleborn best friend to Harry Potter, and her werewolf professor at Hogwarts, Remus Lupin._"

"Oh my god," Hermione whispered, staring at the table in front of her blankly.

"So it's true?" Lavender questioned, annoyingly persistent, "You married Professor Lupin? That's whose rooms you've been sleeping in?"

"Lavender!" Ginny cut in sharply, "now is not the time."

Lavender reluctantly left, moving to sit with the other Gryffindor girls, who were all openly staring at Hermione now. Around the Great Hall, there was a rustling hush of whispers, many of which she was sure were about her.

If Hermione had thought it was bad before, it was nothing compared to when Remus entered the Great Hall. The quiet whispers turned into a dull roar about the room. Remus seemed confused as the eyes drew to him, but comprehension dawned on his face when Snape slid a newspaper over to him. After inspecting the front cover, his eyes lifted to the Gryffindor table, searching for Hermione. They shared a shaken look before Hermione turned away. She ducked her head for the rest of breakfast, focusing on her Transfiguration essay and feeling dreadful.

Transfiguration was their first class on Wednesdays. Hermione was lucky that McGonagall was giving a lecture, which required immense concentration. This took at least some attention off of her.

She considered that Remus was probably having a much worse day. He'd have to go through several classes in which all attention was on him. Unluckily, they had to be together for one of these classes. Hermione, Harry, and Ron had Defense Against the Dark Arts before lunch with the Slytherins and other Gryfindors. She knew it was going to be a potentially disastrous period going in.

Remus began class with a scrawled bunch of important information on the chalkboard. They were studying defensive strategies against the Imperius Curse. Hermione took rigorous notes, even though she already knew the material and would no longer be receiving a grade for this class.

"Um, Professor Lupin?" a quiet feminine voice piped up to the left of the classroom. Hermione turned to see Pansy Parkinson, sitting between Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott, her hand raised in the air. Draco was smirking malevolently at Hermione, his Head Boy badge pinned proudly on his chest. Nott was grinning in a similar manner at Lupin.

"Yes, Miss Parkinson?" Remus replied, looking up from his desk.

"I have a question," Pansy stated primly, looking all too sweet and innocent.

Remus nodded for her to continue. Most of the class had looked up from their papers and was now watching the exchange. Hermione met Harry's eyes and saw the weary look he gave her.

"I was just wondering," the Slytherin began, "how is it allowed that your wife is a student in your class?"

There had been some quiet whispering in the back of the room, but it immediately died out into a grave lull of silence. Hermione watched Remus anxiously. His eyes darted to look at her for a split second before moving back to Pansy. He took a deep breath before speaking. "My_ wife_ is no longer a student in this class. She is simply sitting in on my lectures, as Professor Dumbledore has permitted her to do. That is all that we will discuss on the subject. I want you all to focus on your notes."

With that, a whole new round of chalk marks appeared on the board. Remus' angry look prompted most students to return to their scribbling.

Hermione didn't want to give Pansy or the others the satisfaction of looking upset. Inside she was seething with anger and discomfort, but outside, she maintained her cool exterior and worked diligently for the rest of class.

Defense was bad, but Potions was terrible in comparison.

It was the Gryffindors and Slytherins again. Hermione filed into the classroom between Harry and Ron, happy that the boys were around to stand by her. They had been very lucky to be allowed to continue the NEWT level Potions program after Slughorn left. She would hate to face this class without them.

Most of the Slytherins watched Hermione with various amused expressions. The Gryffindors just whispered, probably about what had happened in DADA. She didn't really blame them for talking about it, this was a huge scandal compared to the other stuff that happened around Hogwarts. Her relationship with Remus would be talked about for weeks, maybe even longer.

Snape's entrance silenced the class. He had them begin working on the potion, a basic sleeping draught. Hermione focused on her brewing for a good fifteen minutes before her concentration was interrupted.

"A Mudblood and a Werewolf, how cute," Pansy's quiet voice floated into her ears. Hermione frowned in anger, but didn't give her the satisfaction of turning around and showing any reaction.

The comments continued. Hermione whispered under her breath to Harry and Ron to just ignore it. They complied, but she could tell they were both irate.

"A perfect little lower class couple," Malfoy snickered. His comment was surely loud enough for Snape to hear, but the Professor continued to grade papers at the front of the class.

Pansy mumbled something about Hermione being a simple, plain Mudblood. Her anger rose, and she gripped her stirring rod with white knuckles. Ron and Harry were looking at each other, having some sort of silent conversation about what they were going to do to Pansy and Malfoy.

"The poor little werewolf probably sleeps at the foot of her bed at night," Pansy continued, laughing at her attempt at a joke. "I bet she feeds him dog food, maybe takes him for a few walks."

She knew they were trying to get a reaction out of her, but she couldn't stop herself. "Do _not_ talk about him that way," she snarled, whipping her head around to send Pansy a menacing glare. Hermione's wand was drawn stiffly in her hand.

The classroom was silent, and that was when she realized that she had spoken rather loudly. She quickly whisked around and sat back down in her seat, placing her wand on the table.

It was too late. Snape was already striding over. She felt Harry and Ron wince on either side of her.

"_Mrs_. _Lupin_, I don't know why you feel compelled to draw your wand and lash out in such a way at your classmates, but I assure you that it will not be tolerated. Detention, Friday evening, my office." Snape's drawl cut through the classroom.

She wanted to let out a cry of outrage at the injustice, but restrained herself. She had watched Harry go down this path far too many times with Snape…

"Yes, Sir," Hermione murmured, her jaw tight with tension.

Snape turned and moved back to the front of the classroom, remaining silent until the bell rang and it was time to turn in potions. Hermione bottled her draught viciously and dropped it at Snape's desk before storming out of the classroom. Harry and Ron followed closely behind.

"That bastard!" She raged once they were clear of the dungeons, kicking a nearby column in the wall.

"I'm sorry, Hermione," Harry muttered sympathetically.

"He's terrible," Ron agreed.

"He's atrocious!" she seethed, slamming her books into her bag.

Harry and Ron stood there with her for a few moments before she calmed down. After her breathing was at a normal rate, she looked up at them. "I should head to Remus' rooms," she muttered, running a hand through her loose hair, "I'll see you guys in the common room later."

"You sure you're okay?" Harry questioned, his brows furrowed together.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she mumbled absently, rubbing her temples as she turned a corner and headed for Remus' rooms. Luckily, she would have the space to herself. Remus had one more class to teach before he was done for the day.

Trying to avoid the main entrance through his office and the Defense classroom, Hermione took an alternate entrance he had shown her a few days ago. This way, she could get inside his rooms directly from the corridor.

She slipped inside the sitting area, letting out a heavy sigh before dropping her bag unceremoniously on the ground. Once the door was closed, she sunk down to the ground against it and buried her head in her arms.

"Hermione?"

The quiet voice made her jump, her eyes darting up to see Remus standing across the room.

"I thought you had a class to teach," she gasped, standing from the ground quickly.

"I don't teach at this time on Wednesdays," he muttered, looking over her with a concerned expression. "What's wrong?"

She shrugged, "I got a detention from Snape."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, watching her closely. "What happened?"

"I yelled at Pansy Parkinson in the middle of class. She was taunting me. Then Snape gave me a detention."

"What was Pansy saying?" He queried.

"You don't want to know," she breathed, falling down onto the couch and shaking her head.

"Tell me," he urged softly, "I'd like to know."

She met his eyes. "Her and Draco were talking about us. They were making fun of us. She… she called you a dog, and Draco called me a Mudblood. It was stupid."

Remus' jaw was tight. He paused to take a deep breath, and then spoke, "I'm sorry, Hermione." A tragically sad look passed over his face, gone before she could really recognize it.

"You've no need to apologize," she replied softly.

"But I do," he said, "Most of this is my fault. I'm embarrassing you and ruining your reputation because I'm a poor old werewolf." He looked tired and stressed.

Hermione felt a surge of irritation at his self-deprecatory manner. She stood up and crossed her arms, "I'm not embarrassed by you, Remus Lupin, more than anything I'm thankful to you for helping me so much in the past week! You'll never embarrass me."

He shook his head, "I'm glad that I helped you, Hermione, but you should know that this isn't going to stop. I'll always be the person that stains your reputation. Don't think that this is going to get easier, because it's not."

Hermione took a small step backwards as his words hit her. A voice whispered quiet worries in the back of her mind: _He regrets marrying you. He never wanted to do this. He wishes he hadn't._

The thoughts seemed illogical, but she knew that deep down, he hated this situation, and of course he never wanted to be married to her in the first place.

Remus looked regretful of what he had just said. "Hermione-"

Before he could say more she cut him off. "I'm going to go to the Common Room," she sniffed, picking up her bag and exiting quickly.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry to the people who hate to see them fight (I think we all do), but this is very important to their relationship. Kudos to you if you guessed what our little "bump in the road" was. Also, thanks soooooooo much to everyone for the wonderful feedback on this story. It's a blast to write, and you all make it a hundred times better.

_Coming up next:_ Remus decides to go see Snape, probably a stupid decision.


	10. Second Time Around

Hermione had left the room silence and tense. Remus was irate at himself. He didn't know what had compelled him to say what he did, but he knew that he regretted it. The look on Hermione's face had been terrible. It was like all her insecurities and fears welled up, so visible to him as he watched her.

He needed to do something, and at least try to make it up to Hermione. He decided that he'd start with Severus. The bloody bastard had it coming after being so cruel about his punishments towards Gryffindors. Remus wouldn't let Severus get away with this.

The werewolf stormed down to the dungeon, seething with anger and frightening a couple first years along the way. He knocked on the Potions Master's classroom loudly. It was a moment later that Severus opened up, a bored expression on his face. "Make it quick, Lupin. I'm brewing."

Remus clenched his jaw, "Why did you give Hermione detention?" His voice was strained with irritation.

Severus seemed amused, which only angered Remus further. "Did she not tell you the whole story? She drew her wand at another student. I don't know what standard you hold your wife to, but I will certainly not tolerate such aggression."

"The others were provoking her!" Remus barked back, his voice rising, "Surely you realize that she must have had a reason for acting like that."

Severus sighed, "Drawing a wand is different than simple childish taunts. I won't be revoking her detention, especially after this little tirade you put me through. Miss Granger should be more responsible than this. The Head Girl shouldn't have to resort to using her husband to get out of detentions."

"It's Mrs. Lupin now," Remus said flatly before turning and storming out of the dungeons. He didn't look back, but if he had, there would probably be a self-satisfied smirk on Snape's face. The bastard.

Remus arrived back to his rooms, falling onto the couch and mulling over how much he'd messed up tonight. Suddenly, he just felt a million times more terrible for this whole situation. Hermione was a bright, young, beautiful girl. She had never planned on getting married to her old, worn out professor. He'd always been fairly sure that Hermione had planned on marrying Ron one day. That had seemed to be the general consensus between everyone they knew.

But she couldn't marry Ron anymore. She was stuck with Remus. Instead of having a husband who she loved, she got an awkward roommate and a blaring stain on her reputation.

* * *

After her little disagreement with Remus, Hermione had made a couple laps around the school to clear her head. Once the other classes were out, she went to dinner with Ginny, Ron, and Harry. None seemed to notice that something was amiss with Hermione, but she was glad that she didn't have to talk about it.

They hung around the Common Room after dinner. She spent some quality time with her friends, and it _did_ brighten up her mood a little. Nevertheless, when she realized that it was after curfew and she had to go back to Remus, her mood dropped.

As the Head Girl, Hermione was allowed to stay out an hour after curfew. She occasionally made post-curfew rounds along with prefects and teachers. Tonight, however, she didn't have rounds to make, and therefore wasn't really supposed to be out of bed. Plus, Snape was apparently on patrol tonight, and she _definitely_ didn't want to run into him.

With a heavy heart, Hermione made her way back to Remus' rooms.

She found him on the couch, fast asleep, a book steepled on his chest. After watching his sleeping form for a few minutes, a strange pain began to stir inside of her. She was still a little angry, but the irritation seemed to wash away with each rise and fall of his chest. He was peaceful and young in his sleep. She wondered if he felt bad, or if he was mad at her for running out. They had been growing into such a nice friendship, but then the word got out, and everything had just fallen apart.

Perhaps she was being overdramatic. Things would probably be better in the morning. Hermione retired to the bedroom with a heavy heart, wishing that maybe Remus would wake up and join her in bed. Probably not.

* * *

The next few days were terrible. Hermione believed that there wasn't a person in the school who didn't know about the scandal. She was lucky that she had Harry and Ron. They'd taken up the habit of walking with her to most classes, looking as intimidating as they could so that no other students could ask their stupid questions about the marriage.

The worst part of it all was the fact that there was this immense sea of awkwardness separating Hermione from Remus. She spent her evenings in the common room until late at night, and avoided raising her hand or making eye contact during DADA.

They talked to each other, but only when necessary. The morning after their disagreement, Hermione had asked Remus if they could just forget about it. He had agreed, but things hadn't gone back to normal, and she knew that neither of them had forgotten about it.

She felt like he hated being married to her, and he hated having her living in his rooms, sleeping in his bed. After Wednesday night, he had slept beside her, but the distance between them had seemed further than on any other nights. It was starting to feel like they would never have the friendship she had been hoping for. Hermione resigned herself to trying to stay out of Remus' way as much as possible, and to never letting on that she wanted more from him.

When the weekend came, Hermione was happy to devote her time to her friends and studies. However, Ginny seemed to be catching on to what was going on with Remus.

"Alright, what happened?" the redhead asked, pulling Hermione along on her way to Quidditch practice. Hermione had agreed to meet Neville and Luna down by the pitch, so she didn't mind being dragged down the hill.

"What do you mean?" she replied, looking down at the ground.

"You know what I mean. You've been acting like something's wrong, and whenever somebody mentions Lupin you get this sad look on your face. Did he say something to you?" Hermione looked up at Ginny and noticed the girl's fierce protectiveness, very similar to a look she had seen on her mother's face a couple times before.

"It's nothing," she sighed, gazing down at the pitch, where a few figures were flying around, "things are just awkward between us."

Ginny was wary, "are you sure?"

"Yeah," Hermione breathed, tying her Gryffindor scarf around her neck and parting from Ginny.

She sat with Neville and Luna, talking with them about school and Quidditch while they watched practice. Neville was still uncomfortable with the idea that she was married to Professor Lupin. Luna kept making odd comments about how well-suited they were.

When practice ended, Hermione found herself being approached by Harry. She was disappointed to find that he also wanted to bring up Lupin. It seemed that everything in her life was starting to revolve around her husband.

"How are you?" Harry asked, removing his gloves and stuffing them into his pockets.

"Fine. You?"

"I'm good," he nodded, "But listen, Hermione, I wanted to ask you a favor."

"What?"

"I've been thinking… Dumbledore isn't giving me much information lately about the Horcruxes. He's holding back, and I feel like we need to know more. Lupin's our DADA teacher, so I figured he might know a thing or two about Horcruxes. Maybe you could bring it up and see if he knows anything useful?"

She really didn't think Remus would want to talk to her about this, but Hermione couldn't say no to Harry's hopeful expression. They'd been coming to dead end after dead end for weeks with the Horcruxes, and to be honest, Remus could quite possibly know something useful.

"I suppose I could ask him."

"Great!" Harry beamed, "but you have to swear him to secrecy, and don't tell him anything too important."

"Of course," she said, smiling lightly at Harry as they parted ways. She needed to get to the library and do something relaxing. Talking about Horcurxes with Remus could wait until they were at least a little less awkward.

So Hermione and Remus remained in a sort of limbo, at least until the next Saturday came around. It had been a fortnight since their marriage, and they were due to have sex again. On Friday evening, Hermione was embarrassed to return from her post-curfew patrol to find a suspicious looking potion waiting for her.

It turned out to be a birth control potion. Hermione grimaced as she drank it. According to the note attached, this one would last for a few months, and Madam Pomfrey had made sure that Snape put extra care into brewing it. She was mortified that Snape had brewed her birth control potion, but told herself to just get over it. The last thing she was going to do now was care about what Snape thought of her.

On Saturday, Hermione visited Hagrid with Harry and Ron, allowing them to keep her out as late as possible. It was shortly before curfew that she decided to return to their rooms. She said goodbye to Harry and Ron and slipped inside.

He was sitting at his desk, seeming to be drawing up a lesson plan or something. She had learned that he was very devoted to putting a lot of work into his lesson plans. It was endearing how much he cared about teaching.

"Sorry I'm back late," she murmured, removing her jacket and stepping into the dimly lit sitting area.

"No problem," he replied, looking up and studying her. There was discomfort hanging in the air. They both knew what they had to do tonight.

"How was your day?" she asked conversationally, leaning against the back of the couch and facing him.

"It was nice, actually. Got a lot of work done. Yours?" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. She thought that he seemed nervous.

"It was good. We went to see Hagrid."

He nodded, and a silence hung between them for several odd beats.

"Did you- ah- did Madam Pomfrey give you a potion?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah," she exhaled, looking down at her hands, "I'm good for a few months now." She could feel her face burning.

He stood up then, moving away from his desk and closer to Hermione, "alright… should we… take care of this then?"

She watched him anxiously. Sex wasn't scary anymore, but he still made her feel just a little bit nervous inside. "Sure," she said, her voice tight.

He studied her face for a moment before reaching for her hand, and gently pulling her towards the bedroom. Hermione felt a wave of butterflies take flight in her stomach, but she trudged on bravely.

They arrived in the bedroom and he closed the door. It was strange to think back to the last time they had sex in here. Here she was, sexual encounter number two, and it was already off to a horribly awkward start.

He turned to face her then, his expression just a little bit different than it had been outside. They were still standing just inside the room, only a foot or two separating them.

"Look, um, I want to apologize for what I said…" He ran a hand through his hair anxiously.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh."

"I was just angry with people finding out about us, and I was angry about what happened to you. Anyways, I shouldn't have said that, and I realize how hard this is for you." He looked pained.

She suddenly felt terrible for running out on him. "It's fine, and I should be apologizing too. I shouldn't have left. I just don't want you to feel bad or ashamed for me. I don't care what people think of me, I'm really just grateful for everything you've done."

"Thank you," he said, his expression softening. "Now maybe we can actually move past it?"

"I'd like that," Hermione grinned.

Their eyes were locked for what felt like a long moment before he finally leaned in. Hermione felt a giddy flutter in her stomach. It had been two weeks since their wedding. Two weeks since he had kissed her.

He was much more heated and needy about his kissing than the last time. Hermione was delighted by the way he began to push into her, melding their bodies together. He grew possessive and confident, despite their rocky start this evening. It was when she let out a quiet moan that he finally pulled her to the bed. They fell onto the mattress together, Hermione letting out a little squeak at the impact.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers. "Sorry," he breathed, "I get like this around the full moon."

Comprehension dawned on Hermione's face as she remembered the date. 'The full moon is Tuesday."

He nodded, crashing in to kiss her again.

So it was the wolf, then. Hermione vaguely remembered her study of werewolves back in her third year. She had written that terrible essay for Snape, and something in there had been about werewolves exhibiting increased aggression and sex drive closer to the full moon. That explained the way he was kissing her, with possession and heat.

Soon she was shifting beneath him, finding herself hot and needy as a result of his hastier mood. He had divested her of all clothing. His mouth was tracing over her breasts with reverence. She moaned loudly when he lightly bit her nipple, receiving a chuckle from him in response.

It was funny how much confidence she had gained. She wasn't nervous about her body like last time, she was just immersed in this lust that Remus seemed to be sharing. Their awkward relationship just faded into something else when they were doing their fortnightly "duties".

Hermione decided that she needed to remove some clothes from him. She flipped him over with difficulty, but managed to get herself on top of him. He still wore a light jumper, which she pulled over his head quickly, bending down to kiss her way across his chest, tracing a few scars as she went.

He let out a deep breath of air, lifting his hands to finger them through her wild hair. She smirked at the control she had over him. Her hands trailed down to his trousers, which she quickly unbuttoned and unzipped. She glanced up at him to see a challenging expression on his face. Before she could do anything more, he flipped them back over.

With a flick of his wrist, he wandlessly vanished his trousers and boxers. She didn't have much time to admire his wandless magic because he was soon grinding himself into her.

"_Remus_," she let out a low whine. He was teasing her, his erection pressed up against her entrance, but not where she wanted it to be.

He chuckled, "ready, then?"

"Please!" she almost shouted.

He did as she asked, pushing into her with a vigor that she hadn't experienced the previous time.

It was so different from last time. Last time he had taken it slow because of her inexperience, but now most of her discomfort was gone and his movements just felt blissful.

He proceeded to move in and out, bending over to kiss her chest, then her collarbone, then her neck, nipping lightly as he went. Hermione wrapped her legs around him, aiming for more friction. He seemed to understand her intentions and brought a hand down to touch her clit, releasing a whole new round of moans from her.

It wasn't long before he was thrusting faster, letting out low grunts as he buried himself inside of her. She lifted her hips to meet his, desperate for release. Soon the slow-mounting tension seemed to snap, and it was _so_ much more intense than anything else she'd experienced. Hermione cried out, and Remus grunted, thrusting unevenly a few more times before he was spent.

He pulled out and collapsed beside her. They lay there silently for a few long moments, regaining their breath. Hermione wondered not for the first time if all sex could be like this. Was it the full moon? Was it just some strange chemistry they had between them?

"I'm sorry," he spoke after a stretch of contented silence, "I didn't mean to be that rough about it."

Hermione laughed, "that was great, Remus, you've nothing to worry about."

Without much more to say, she shifted under the covers and turned herself over, allowing the tiredness to seep into her bones and her mind to drift off.

* * *

_Coming up next: _The full moon approaches.


	11. Full Moon

Remus awoke in the morning to find Hermione lying naked beside him. She was sound asleep, twisted and hogging the sheets, her hair shrouding most of her head. He smiled at her sleeping form.

Checking the time, he noticed that it was after ten, and they had missed breakfast in the Great Hall. He got out of bed and put some clothes on before moving into the other room and calling for a house elf.

"What can Dotty get you, Mister?" the little thing asked.

"I'll have some oatmeal, please, and, ah..." he trailed off, realizing that he ought to ask for something for Hermione. The problem was that he had no clue what she liked for breakfast. Luckily, her voice called from the bedroom, "I'll have the same as you," she said tiredly.

"Two servings of oatmeal, then," he said, smiling down at the elf.

"Right away, Mister," Dotty piped, disappearing with a crack.

Remus made his way back into the bedroom. Hermione was in bed, propped up on one elbow, watching him tiredly. The sheets were placed so that he could get a view of her shoulders and neck, with just a hint of unintentional cleavage. She looked like the picture of sexiness, wild hair and all. The wolf stirred within him, rowdy due to the upcoming full moon. Moony wanted her _again_.

Remus moved into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him to give her privacy to get dressed. The last thing he wanted to do was make her uncomfortable after everything had gone so well the previous night. He had fixed the awkwardness between them, and now he refused to let the monthly spike in his sex drive make her uncomfortable.

He was halfway through brushing his teeth when the door creaked open, and Hermione brushed inside the bathroom. She was dressed in a t-shirt and some sort of thin little shorts. Her hair was still wild with bed head. Remus tried to resist laughing at the storm of hair on her head.

"Are you laughing at me, Lupin?" she asked while picking up a brush and beginning to work her way through the mass on her head.

Remus smirked at her, "not you, just your hair."

"You know, I like think that my hair is a representation of myself," she murmured sappily, "so I'm a bit offended."

"Mmm," Remus quirked an eyebrow, "my apologies."

She chuckled and went back to brushing her hair. It was a few moments later that the elf popped back in with their food.

They decided to eat breakfast beside each other in bed. Hermione was too tired to get fully dressed, and when she asked if they could just stay in bed, he was happy to comply. Remus pulled out a stack of papers to grade, and Hermione produced a paper of her own to look over. It was apparently Ron's potions essay, which she had agreed to edit for him. According to Hermione, he was close to failing potions and desperately needed her help.

The silence between them was amicable as they ate. He was amused by the fact that every couple of seconds, Hermione would murmur something like "this doesn't make sense!" or "That's not even a proper sentence!" while glowering at Ron's essay.

After several moments of this, she looked up at him, a slight blush on her cheeks. He caught her eye and smiled.

"You know," he began, "I was thinking that we ought to figure out a way to get back at Malfoy and Parkinson."

She furrowed her brow, "'get back' at them?"

He nodded, "They shouldn't have gotten away with what they said while you got a detention."

"And what exactly were you thinking of doing about it?" she seemed suspicious, but intrigued.

He shrugged, "I think we'll have to think of something."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, "_well_, I think I'll have to leave you to your own devices on that. I'm afraid I shouldn't really be participating in your revenge schemes, you know, with me being Head Girl and all."

"Afraid of getting caught?" He taunted.

"No." Hermione huffed, jutting her lower lip out, "I'm simply more mature than that."

The wolf began to stir at her provocative pout. He really needed to get the full moon over with so his hormones could just get out of the bloody way.

"Whatever you say," he finally replied, putting on a nonchalant expression and returning to his grading.

She returned to Ron's essay, finishing it up in silence. After she was done, she turned to her bedmate again. "Remus?"

He picked his head up and looked at her.

"What are we going to do for the full moon?" She asked, cautious in her question.

His expression drooped a little. "Well, I expect that I'll go to the Shrieking Shack. You can stay here, and then I'll return in the morning."

Hermione nibbled her lower lip, nodding and tracing patterns in the sheets of the bed.

"Is something wrong?" He could see some sort of anxiety in her movements.

She looked up, caught off guard. "Oh… I suppose I'm just worried for you."

It was endearing to see her worry for him. Remus smiled lightly, "I'll be fine," he waved a hand, "I've been doing it every month for as long as I can remember

"Still," she exhaled, leaning back against the headboard of the bed, "is there anything I can do to make it easier for you?"

_Oh, I can think of a few things you can do…_

Images of Hermione sprawled out on his bed like she'd been the previous night filled his mind, but he shook them away. The wolf was getting too much of a grip on his thoughts. He usually didn't get this bad around the full moon, but it seemed that the wolf had taken a liking to her, and living in such close quarters probably didn't help the situation.

"Don't worry about it," he said coolly, "I'll be fine as long as I get my potion."

Hermione watched him steadily for a moment, before nodding and getting out of bed, "I better go find Ron and return this to him." She stuffed the essay in her bag and left the bedroom. A moment later, he heard the other door open and close as she exited into the corridor.

* * *

When the full moon finally came on Tuesday, Hermione was nervous the whole day. Remus had decided to go ahead and teach classes, despite his poor condition. She watched him with concerned eyes throughout DADA. He didn't do much of anything, just allowed the students to practice some shielding spells while he sat at his desk.

After classes, Hermione spoke to Harry and Ron about the full moon. She told them how she was worried about him, and that it would be strange being alone in his rooms.

"We could always stop by," Harry offered, "instead of hanging around the Common Room."

Hermione beamed, "Of course! Oh, that would be so much better than having to be there alone."

True to their word, Harry and Ron walked to Remus' and her rooms after dinner, bringing Ginny along as well. Remus was there when they arrived, but in too bad of a condition to be able to have any real conversation. Harry and Ron just glanced at him awkwardly while Ginny smirked.

"I should go," he said, glancing out the window. They had about a half hour until sunset.

"Did you get your potion?" Hermione asked, standing up from the couch, where Harry, Ron, and Ginny were.

He nodded, smiling lightly at her while he shrugged his cloak on. Hermione glanced behind her quickly. Harry and Ron were focused on their homework, but Ginny was slyly watching Hermione, a grin on her face. That girl was too smug for her own good.

She turned back to Remus and hugged him quickly. He picked his arms up to squeeze her briefly before backing away. "Bye," he murmured, nodding to her as he left, then at the others.

"Bye." She said, watching him slip outside and close the door.

She turned back to her friends. Ginny was grinning widely, "you two seem to be getting along a lot better now."

Hermione blushed and sat down in one of the chairs, "I'm just worried about him," she said gingerly, focusing on her work.

Conversation dissolved into discussion over the upcoming Quidditch match, the first of the season. Hermione didn't mind them talking about Quidditch, she was just glad to have her friends with her. The room didn't seem so lonely with the three of them. Plus, they seemed to love having the space, as opposed to the crowded Common Room.

Eventually, Harry, Ginny, and Ron had to leave. Hermione bid them goodbye before collapsed into bed. She felt tired, but her mind wasn't quite ready to go to sleep. There was a clear view of the Forbidden Forest out Remus' bedroom window. She imagined him bounding through the woods in his wolf form, free and happy as he played. In reality, he was probably still going through quite a bit of pain, and locked up in the Shrieking Shack. It was at least an hour before Hermione was able to fall asleep.

In the morning, she skipped out on breakfast, instead deciding to rush down to the hospital wing before class. Remus had informed her that Pomfrey usually had him come to the hospital wing for a few hours after he woke up post-transformation. She found him sitting up in a bed in a curtained off area in the back of the hospital wing.

"How are you?" she asked, taking in his weary look. There were bags under his eyes, and he looked a little pale, but other than that, not too terrible.

"Tired," he replied simply.

She sat down in the chair beside his bed, "did you get any sleep?"

He shook his head, "I usually don't, but that's what today's for." His voice was hoarse from overuse.

Just then, Madam Pomfrey bustled in, handing Remus a potion and raising an eyebrow at Hermione's presence at his bedside. Hermione just smiled sweetly at the Matron, hoping to not get kicked out. Technically, students weren't supposed to visit at this time in the morning.

"Alright, Remus, I think you'll be able to go back to your rooms now," Pomfrey said running a few strange diagnostic spells over him before nodding. Hermione recognized a few of them, but the rest were too complex.

"I'll walk with you," she offered as Remus slowly started to get out of bed. He seemed wary at the thought of them walking together, but obviously waved it off, too tired to care at this point.

He got out of bed slowly, wincing as he went. "Are you sure you're okay?" she questioned.

He nodded, "It's not that far to our rooms anyway."

Hermione nodded tentatively before setting herself in stride beside him. He went slowly, so it was easy for her to keep up. Aside from his tired appearance, he didn't really _look_ like he'd just gone through a full moon.

As they exited the hospital wing, they encountered many students who were leaving the great hall, heading to their first classes of the day. Many blatantly stared as she walked past with Remus. She could hear some whispers among them, pointing out that _she_ was the girl who had married Professor Lupin.

"So how was your night?" he asked, ignoring the audience around them.

"It was alright," she murmured, not wanting to admit that she had a fair amount of trouble sleeping. "Yours?"

He exhaled, "terrible, as always, but I'm better now."

She smiled up at him gently. Some students around them were watching the interaction as if it was some sort of scandal, but she ignored them. It really didn't matter anymore what people thought of them. The news of their marriage had caused quite a stir, but things were dying down, and it didn't seem that people cared all that much anymore, except for now. Nevertheless, the student body would get over it soon.

Remus seemed very glad to have arrived back to their rooms. Hermione watched him retreat into the bedroom and fall onto the mattress ungracefully. He groaned, sinking into the bed and muttering something about how uncomfortable the hospital wing beds were. She watched him from the doorway, her bag slung over her shoulder and a small smile on her face.

"You should head to class," he said, eyeing her pointedly. He tried to be stern, but she couldn't quite take him seriously when he was so ungracefully sprawled across the bed.

Hermione steeled herself and nodded. "You'll be alright?" she tried to not look too concerned, but some of her worry escaped.

"I'll be fine," he replied, his voice still hoarse.

She watched him for another second, nodded, and then left.

* * *

_Coming up next_: A moment between Hermione and Remus that I think you all will enjoy very much :)


	12. Revenge and Revelations

Remus ended up coming through on his proposal to revenge on Pansy and Draco. In class a few days after the full moon, Hermione noted that he was in an unusually bright mood. There was also something suspicious about the way he was inspecting the room, his eyes straying to the Syltherins for extended periods of time.

The class was practicing shielding spells. Hermione was paired up with Harry. Ron had run off to work with Lavender for some unknown reason. Hermione and Harry were already experts at shielding and wards. She had practiced and researched the curriculum most of the summer, and Harry always excelled in DADA. It was because of this that they were very relaxed about the day's activities.

Draco and Pansy were working together, and unfortunately right beside Harry and Hermione. Pansy had erected her shield, and Draco was firing hexes at it, as the activity mandated for their practice. Every once in awhile, Pansy would slip up and catch a nasty stinging hex from Draco. This was quite amusing to Harry and Hermione.

"Ouch, Draco!" Pansy hissed, jumping backwards when her shield failed.

Harry snickered under his breath. He was lazily flicking spells at Hermione's shield, with stood proud and steady.

"What are you laughing at, Potter?" Pansy spat, noticing Harry's amusement. She glared at Hermione as well, who was trying to hide her little smile of satisfaction. "Oh, wipe that smile off your face, Mudblood." She said it quiet enough so that only Hermione, Harry, and Draco could hear.

Harry instantly stiffened at the word, but before he could let his anger get ahead of him, Pansy let out the strangest noise. It was a strangled sort of squeak that came out of her mouth. Her eyes grew wide with alarm, and she made the noise again, louder this time.

Hermione watched Pansy closely. The noise she was making sounded almost like…

"She sounds like a pig," Harry muttered, a shocked, yet amused expression on his face.

Pansy oinked several more times in panic. Half the class was now giggling. Remus was still sitting at his desk, pretending to be oblivious to what was going on. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, and then looked back to Pansy. _He wouldn't… would he?_

"What did you do, _Mudblood_?" Draco growled, stepping closer to Hermione. Harry was now at her side, along with Ron. They both seemed to be prepared to curse Draco, but then, just as he spat out the word "Mudblood", his expression changed. He opened his mouth to say something else, but a high-pitched barking noise came out instead.

Harry and Ron seemed to have caught on, and let out roars of laughter. Hermione made the connection that these noises were a result of Draco and Pansy calling her a Mudblood. Malfoy barked angrily, but he still sounded like a yippy little poodle. Pansy made the occasional oinking noise, her face red with embarrassment.

Hermione once again looked over to Remus' desk. He was now standing up, walking towards the group of students. For a moment, his eyes flicked to meet hers, and he winked conspiratorially. Hermione's jaw dropped. _He_ had done this! Of all the irresponsible things for a _teacher_ to do!

Oh, but she had to admit, it was rather funny. Draco had a hand clamped over his mouth and Pansy was still making outraged chortling sounds. Most of the Gryffindors were roaring with laughter, including Harry and Ron.

"Professor Lupin, something's happened to Draco and Pansy!" one of the other Slytherins desperately tried to talk to Remus over the laughter.

"Ah, I see," Remus murmured, a calm expression on his face. Hermione was surprised by his self-mastery, but then again, he _was_ a Marauder. "Looks like some sort of Weasley product gone wrong?" He showed false concern over Pansy and Draco. "Not to worry, it already seems to be wearing off."

Sure enough, Pansy stopped oinking. "What _was_ that?" she screeched, a sour look on her face. After a moment, Draco regained his voice. He was glaring at Harry and Hermione suspiciously, but didn't dare say a word to them. Hermione got quite a kick out of that. Here he was, afraid to talk to her. Perhaps this wasn't the worst thing Remus could have done.

Suddenly, the bell rang. The crowd of students dispersed, grabbing their books and filing out of the classroom. Laughter and amusement still hung heavy in the air. Pansy and Draco nearly bolted out of the room.

Harry and Ron looked like Christmas had come early. Hermione shared a look with them and their eyes flicked to Remus curiously. They were silently asking if Remus was the cause of all that. Hermione nodded reluctantly, confirming their suspicious. She then moved to approach Remus, who was standing beside his desk, packing up some papers.

"You could have just given them a detention for calling me that," Hermione mused, watching Remus pack his things. Harry and Ron were behind her, still grinning with satisfaction. The classroom was empty except for the four of them.

Remus smirked, "Ah, but that takes all the fun out of it. Besides, this way they actually learn not to do it again. Detention doesn't get anything done around here."

Hermione crossed her arms, "You know I don't approve of this."

"Well I think it was bloody brilliant," Ron beamed.

"Agreed," Harry piped. They were both staring at Remus as if he was some sort of god. Hermione rolled her eyes dramatically and bid Remus a farewell, dragging the boys off to Transfiguration.

* * *

The prank on Pansy and Draco was talked about through most of the school over the next day or so. Hermione found out that Remus was quite pleased with himself, and really, she couldn't complain. Things would probably be a lot easier now that Draco and Pansy were afraid to speak to her. A good mood carried her through to the next week, but she soon realized that there were things that needed to be attended to One of those things was the conversation she had promised Harry she would have with Remus.

It was late in the evening. Hermione had just slipped inside the room after coming from the common room. She spotted Remus sitting in front of the fire. "Can I ask you a question?" her voice was quiet, but it carried over to him.

Remus looked up from the book he was reading, "Of course," he assured, examining Hermione's anxious expression.

She moved to sit down across from him. There was a quaint fire flickering in the fireplace, and it was growing dark outside. She had promised to do this for Harry a while ago, and it was about time she got around to actually having this conversation.

"I was wondering," she paused hesitantly, "if you can tell me something about a particular aspect of dark magic."

He closed his book and set it aside before focusing his full attention on the girl across from him. There was a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. "What is it?"

She swallowed dryly, "Well- um- I don't want to alarm you or anything, but it's pretty dark, and the reason I'm coming to you is because Harry, Ron, and I are at a loss of information."

Remus nodded, "Go on."

"Horcruxes," she said, her voice flat.

He didn't show much of a reaction, except for the slight quirk of an eyebrow. A silence stretched between them.

"Harry's been having meetings with Dumbledore about V-Voldemort." She explained quickly, "Dumbledore is withholding information from Harry, and we're trying to figure out why."

Remus took a deep breath, "Dumbledore thinks Voldemort made a Horcrux." His expression was ashen.

"Several."

He watched her for a long moment, before letting out a curse under his breath. She was surprised by his vulgarity, unable to remember ever hearing him curse before.

Hermione began to explain most of the story and what they knew of the Horcruxes. She told him about Tom Riddle's diary, the ring, and what happened in the cave at the end of the previous year. "Harry says Dumbledore almost died, and the Horcrux was a fake anyways. Now he's been shutting Harry out more and more." Hermione sighed, "Dumbledore is trying to protect Harry, but we all agree that he deserves to know more. We don't even know what half of the Horcruxes might be, and Dumbledore won't tell Harry anything else."

"I'm sure Albus has a good reason for doing this," Remus interjected. The shadows on his face flickered in the firelight.

Hermione fell back against the cushioned armchair. "We're just trying to shed light on it. You can't deny that Dumbledore's been acting at least a little manipulative lately."

He closed his eyes, as if contemplating what he was going to say to Hermione. After a long moment, he spoke, "so you want to know if I know anything about Horcurxes?"

She nodded.

He shrugged, "Well, I think you already know more than I ever learned about the subject. I'm afraid I probably won't be much help to you, but I can keep an eye out, and there's likely something sitting around the library at Headquarters. Next time I have a chance, I can look."

"Thanks," she said, smiling lightly. There was a strange edge in the atmosphere, but it was something Hermione was relatively familiar with. Talk of war and Voldemort usually brought about this sort of tenseness.

Hermione relayed this conversation to the boys the following evening. Harry was glad to hear that Remus seemed to be on their side. Ron was still a bit uncomfortable talking about Remus in general. "I'm going to talk to Lavender," the redhead grumbled out after awhile, getting up and moving to the other side of the common room.

"Is that a thing again, you think?" Harry asked, wincing as he watched Ron sit near Lavender and her friends. He was referencing the former relationship between Ron and Lavender.

"I certainly hope not," Hermione replied, "though I suppose Ron can do what he wants."

Harry turned to look at her, a contemplative expression on his face. "So… are you over him, then?"

She was surprised by his forwardness. "Oh… well yes, I suppose I am."

Harry smiled ever so slightly. She knew that he had been aware of her previous feelings for Ron, but she didn't think he paid this much attention.

"I think I just needed things to be put into perspective," she muttered, running a hand over the fabric of her skirt.

"I understand," he assured. Hermione was struck by the strange, insightful mood he seemed to be in.

"How are you and Ginny, then?" she questioned after a moment.

Harry's eyebrows pulled together, "we're fine." He propped his elbow on his knee and rested his chin on his hand. There was a strange gloom about him all of a sudden.

"Are you sure? It seems like something's wrong."

He sighed. "She's been asking a lot of questions… about the Horcruxes and Dumbledore and what I'm going to do if something happens."

"And you haven't been answering her questions?" Hermione asked, a hint of irritation in her tone. She understood Harry's trepidation to tell Ginny these things, but honestly, they were far too deep in their relationship for him to abstain from answering these questions.

"I just don't want to see her dragged into this war." He seemed tired, and for a moment, much older than his seventeen years.

"Harry," Hermione spoke firmly, "She's going to be involved in this war whether you like it or not. I'm sure she already feels isolated enough – we all do – and it's not going to keep her safe if you don't communicate. Unless she's shipped off to another country, she's bound to be involved. I think you should talk to her."

He considered her for a moment before nodding. "You're right."

Hermione bit back an 'Of course I am' and stood. "I should get out of here. I have to do some rounds tonight."

Harry said goodbye and she left, taking one last glance at Ron, who was engaged in a seemingly enthralling conversation with Lavender. She found it strange that there wasn't a familiar ache in her chest at the sight of them being together. Last year, she had felt such terrible sadness when she saw them together. Now, it just felt normal. She was over Ron, but was that a result of someone else being on her mind? Hermione certainly hoped she wasn't developing feelings for Remus. He surely didn't feel anything out of the ordinary for her.

No, she wouldn't let herself develop a silly crush on Remus.

* * *

It wasn't long before another fortnightly deadline came around for Remus and Hermione. It was nearing Halloween now. Hermione figured that before she knew it, December would be coming along, and with it, the holidays. She wondered what would happen when she left Hogwarts. It would be the first time she would have to see the Weasleys and possibly other Order members. That would definitely be awkward…

"You look like you're thinking too hard about something," Remus murmured. He had just stepped in from his office. Apparently, a couple Hufflepuffs had detentions to serve.

"I was thinking about the Christmas holidays," she replied, biting her lip in thought.

He chuckled, "We've not even gotten past Halloween yet."

"I know," she explained, "I suppose I am thinking a little too far in advance." She stood up from the couch to face Remus. Her homework was spread across the coffee table that sat in front of the fire.

"Do you need to finish this?" he asked, pointing at the papers and textbooks spread across the table.

"No, I've got plenty of time to do it tomorrow. Shall we?" she asked, inclining her head towards the bedroom. There was an excitement building within her. She was more than ready for the intimacy that they were about to share. They'd only done it twice, but she was becoming more familiar with him, and that lent itself to more enjoyable _activities_.

"Of course," he said curtly, leading the way into the bedroom.

She noticed that he hadn't shaved in at least a day. There was a bit of stubble on his jaw and chin. He closed the door to the bedroom and Hermione instantly moved in. She kissed his jaw, then his mouth, giggling at how his stubble tickled her lips. He appeared to be pleased by her good mood and responded with fervor. It wasn't long before he was sitting on the edge of the bed, Hermione straddling him.

She began to unbutton his shirt methodically. In the dimly lit bedroom, he looked more handsome than ever. She wondered it this crush that was developing was just a result of the sex. She could hazily recall reading somewhere that women released some sort of hormones after sex, causing emotional attachment.

Was this happening to her? Could meaningless sex be creating these feelings? She knew that Remus probably didn't share the feelings at all. Perhaps it was the fact that he was her first sexual partner, and a _good_ sexual partner at that.

"I think you're thinking too hard again," Remus' gruff voice cut through her thoughts. She had been looking down at his shirt as she undid the buttons one by one. He placed his hand on her jaw, lifting her face to look at him. "Anything on your mind?"

She shook her head, "Sorry, I just got caught up in something." Before he could say anything else, she was kissing him again, molding her body against his. That seemed to get his mind off of things.

* * *

They were both lying under the sheets in bed, naked, coming down from their highs. Hermione looked over at Remus, examining his form. He was staring at the ceiling, a tranquil, post-coital expression on his face. She watched his chest rise and fall as his breathing slowed down. Tonight he had been much less rowdy than the previous time, but it was still just as exhilarating as Hermione remembered. She loved having sex with Remus, and that was a fact that would probably take awhile to completely understand.

Shifting closer to him, Hermione examined his abdomen, at least the half of it that she could see from this angle. It was brighter in the room right now, a few candles were lit and intensified by Remus' handiwork. While removing his shirt earlier, she had noticed for the first time that the scars on the left side of his body seemed more prominent than those on the right. Now, in clearer light, she could see evidence of this again. Plus, the scars seemed to be very recent in some places. She wondered if he still hurt himself, every full moon.

Without thinking much on it, her hand reached out to trace a line along his ribcage. Remus stiffened, as if he hadn't expected her to touch him. They didn't really do this sort of thing: touching each other so comfortably when they didn't have to have sex. Still, she persisted, tracing a couple of scars while gauging his reaction.

He seemed to calm down after the initial touch of her hand. Now, he just stared at the ceiling, a contemplative look on his face.

Going out on a limb, Hermione decided to ask the question she had been thinking about. "Why are the scars worse on this side of your body?"

Remus took a deep breath before replying. It seemed that he had been expecting her question. "It's from another werewolf. A lot of these are from this previous summer. For some reason the werewolf only managed to get at this side of my body."

She was sure that her expression was one of shock. He looked so accepting of this fact. "What happened?" she queried, almost outraged by what had happened to him.

He tilted his head to look at her. There was sadness and worry in his eyes. "It's quite a long story, but I'll tell you if you'd like to know."

She watched him for a moment before nodding. "Only if you want to."

Remus nodded. "Over the summer, Albus began to think more and more about preparations for the war. In the Order, we discussed what we needed to do to face off against Voldemort. As you know, Voldemort's followers are growing quickly. We needed to gain more followers on our side. That was when Albus looked to me for help."

"Help?" Hermione asked, unable to see how this connected to him getting attacked by a werewolf.

"Yes," he continued, "Albus wanted to get a werewolf pack that I am familiar with on our side. I traveled with this pack many years ago, shortly after James and Lily died. They're based in Germany, a very nomadic group of werewolves that travel together. Albus asked me to go find them, try to establish some relationships so that when the time came, we could bring them into the fight."

"And they turned against you?" She traced another scar, the longest of the bunch. It stretched all the way across his ribcage.

"Well, not exactly," he took a deep breath. She could see the memories swimming in his eyes, "I formed some generally good relationships, and was accepted into the pack rather easily. I stayed there for a month or so, but there was one man in particular that I had a few problems with. His name was Rorik, and he felt that I had usurped his power in the group." Remus paused, deep in thought. "Rorik attacked me on one of the full moons. He was very strong, too strong for me."

Hermione felt a pain in her chest. She could tell that the memory was a dark place for Remus to go to. "Were you alright?" she asked, her voice quiet and gentle.

"I almost died," he whispered. She watched as his hand moved to draw a line across the most prominent of the scars on his chest. "But Albus gave me an emergency Portkey to use in case I was in trouble. I used it in the morning, and managed to get back here. I was pretty beaten up, but Poppy took care of me… and I'm okay now."

Hermione's anger leapt at the injustice of it. "Dumbledore never should have asked that of you," she exclaimed, sitting up in bed and beginning her rant. She didn't even pay any attention to the fact that she was still completely naked. "That was dangerous and manipulative of him. Did he know the danger that the other werewolves posed to you? I can't believe he made you do that!"

There was a ghost of an amused smile on Remus' face, which she belatedly realized was a result of the naked tirade that she had just gone on. "Albus didn't make me do anything," he said, his voice cool and collected, "I was completely in support of the idea."

Hermione's shoulders sagged. "Why?"

Remus turned his head and looked back up at the ceiling. "We need help in this war. I don't really care about the risk I'm putting myself in. I'd give my life for this world to be rid of Voldemort."

Sadness took the place of all the anger Hermione had been feeling just a moment ago. The war had been looming for years, and now it was closer than ever. Her voice was quiet and tentative when she spoke. "Do you think you'll die?"

He took a deep, shuddering breath, turning his head to look at her once again. "I've accepted that it's a possibility."

Hermione looked at him forlornly. She felt a terrible ache in her chest building. She had always considered the possibility of herself dying in the war, but now it seemed more real than ever, and she hated the idea of someone like Remus, who had gone through so much in his life, dying.

It wasn't until he reached a hand out to wipe her cheek that Hermione realized she was crying. She shuddered and allowed him to pull her down against his chest. She let him wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly against him. With her head resting on his chest, Hermione cried silently. He pulled them under the covers together and held her while they drifted off to sleep. She could feel his even breaths in the movement of his chest and the tickle of air against her forehead as he exhaled. His breathing was calming, along with the feel of his arm wrapped around her waist. She focused on these things instead of all the other terrible thoughts swimming through her mind, eventually growing tired.

Hermione was too emotionally drained to understand it, but something had definitely shifted between them.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thanks to **NeonDomino** for brainstorming pranking ideas with me, and ultimately helping me put together Remus' method of revenge on Draco and Pansy.

So I think that this chapter was mostly relationship development/sorting out the Horcruxes thing. Soon, we'll get to the holidays and that's when things really pick up. I have a long plan of this story written out, and I'm excited for you guys to see all the things I have in store. There are some very interesting things to come.

_Coming up next:_ The looming war becomes more present than ever for Hermione.


	13. Confrontation

As the end of October set in, Quidditch preparations became much more serious for the Gryffindors. Hermione found herself immersed in almost constant talk of the spotrt. It was because of this that she was relieved to occasionally spend some time with people other than Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

"Luna, wait up!" Hermione called to the sixth year girl. Students were exiting the Great Hall in a rush of bodies, but she could clearly see Luna's blond head of hair.

"Oh, hello Hermione," Luna smiled airily, falling into stride beside her, "Where are you heading?"

"Ancient Runes, and you?"

"Divination," Luna replied, "we can walk together."

That was the idea Hermione had in mind when she approached Luna. She was glad to talk to the girl. She valued Luna's friendship, and they hadn't spoken in awhile. The pair began ascending the staircases, headed up to the sixth floor. Hermione and Luna chatted about the upcoming Halloween feast mostly. When they were on the fourth floor, Hermione noticed Remus descending the staircase, coming their way.

He smiled when he noticed her, "Hello Hermione, Miss Lovegood." She was glad that it didn't even seem to be one of those pretend, loving smiles they had been forced to wear in the early weeks of their marriage. He looked generally pleased to see her, and of course, she was pleased to see him.

"Hi Remus," she chimed. Luna greeted him as well, and then he was gone.

"You know, I think the two of you seem to make each other quite happy," Luna commented.

Hermione knew that Luna had a tendency to just say things with disregard for tact or the appropriateness of her comments, but she didn't really mind this comment. She just looked at Luna with an intrigued expression on her face.

"I've noticed that he seems a lot happier and well-rested lately," the girl continued, "as do you."

"That's interesting," Hermione muttered, furrowing her brow. Was he happier now that they were married? It didn't seem like this situation would make anybody happier, but to be honest, she _was_ happy. They had a nice friendship now, and perhaps she was even more smitten with him because of the crush that she'd developed.

"I've got to get to class," Hermione said upon noticing that they had arrived at the sixth floor, "thanks for walking with me Luna."

"Anytime," Luna said lightly, continuing up the staircase.

Throughout Ancient Runes class, the only thing Hermione could think about was whether or not Remus was happier now than he was before. She thought through all their recent interactions, trying to pick him apart. However, Remus Lupin was a complex creature. She was sure it would take her a long while to completely understand him.

* * *

Halloween was relatively uneventful. The feast was delicious as always. Harry, Ron, and Ginny didn't stop talking about Quidditch. After dinner Hermione simply returned to her rooms and worked on a potions essay.

In the following days another deadline came and went. Hermione was getting much more used to Remus and his body, as strange as it was to admit. She felt like they ought to have been on a different emotional level with each other to match the intimacy they shared.

A few nights later, Harry visited Hermione with some urgent news. It was news that sent Hermione into a spiral of stress and anxiety.

She had just been reading, sitting in front of the fire in hers and Remus' room. Remus was off having a staff meeting, so she was currently alone. She jumped from the couch upon hearing a panicked knocking at the door. Hermione opened up and find herself face to face with Harry.

She could see his stress and panic. Something was wrong. "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to you," he was breathing heavily, "can I come in?"

"Of course." She moved away from the doorway. Harry strode over to the couch and sat down stiffly. "I just talked to Dumbledore," he sighed.

"And?"

"We talked about the Horcruxes, and… he told me that we might have to leave Hogwarts to find them," for a second, panic flashed across Harry's face, "He was talking to me like he doesn't think he's going to be here much longer."

Hermione's heart sunk, "are you sure?" She moved to the couch and sat beside him.

"I don't know," he ran a hand through his wild hair, "but he was talking so much about what might happen in the future, and he says that Ron and I would have leave Hogwarts. Why would he be telling me this if something wasn't going to happen?"

She shook her head, standing from the couch and pacing the floor, "Maybe he's just planning for the possibilities. Maybe he'll have to leave occasionally like he did back in our fifth year." She stopped suddenly, whisking around to stare at Harry. "Wait, why did he say that you and Ron would have to leave? What about me?"

Harry's put on a muddled expression, "He told me that in this… _hypothetical_ situation, you would have to stay behind with Remus. God, Hermione, why is he planning this far ahead? Something must be going wrong."

"Why would I _ever_ stay behind while you two go out hunting Horcruxes?" Her temper lit up at Dumbledore's assumption that she would just sit back while they went out and failed to manage without her help.

"I don't know," Harry rubbed his temples, "he said something about how you're under the protection of the law, but that's not important. Why is he talking about these things?"

Hermione shook her head, continuing her pacing around the room.

Suddenly, the door from Remus' office opened, and he entered, looking surprised at the tangible tension between Hermione and Harry. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked cautiously, freezing where he stood.

On the spot, Hermione decided that she didn't need to worry Remus about this right now. "No, no," she shook her head; "Harry needs to go talk to Ron."

Harry stood up from the couch, smiling reassuringly at Remus. He walked towards the door, giving Hermione one last look.

"Tell Ron what you told me," she said firmly, "oh, and think about telling Ginny this too. I think she'd like to know." She looked at Harry steadily for a long moment. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out."

"Of course we will, " he replied, a strangely mature confidence taking over. In that moment, he looked much older than his seventeen years.

Hermione nodded, and closed the door behind Harry once he left. When she turned around, Remus was looking at her with a perplexed expression.

"I'm going to take a shower," she mumbled, attempting to flee from the room. However, Remus stopped her before she could get out. He reached for her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

She turned around so she could face him. He was eyeing her intently, looking her up and down. She tried to ignore the little flutter in her stomach. Now was not the time for _those_ feelings.

"Is everything okay?" he inquired, searching her face.

"Yeah," she exhaled and gave him a tight smile, "nothing you need to worry about."

He released her arm, still eyeing her with suspicion. Hermione backed out of the room, holding her reassuring expression until she was inside the bathroom.

* * *

The first Quidditch match of the season took place during the second week of November. Hermione walked to the pitch with Remus. They didn't talk about much; she was just hoping that he didn't ask about what was going on with Harry. They split up upon arriving at the Pitch. He went up to the staff area and she went off with Neville and Luna.

The match was against Slytherin, and was looking to be a rough one. Hermione noticed the anxiety in all her friends that morning at breakfast. They knew Slytherin was going to play dirty, and Gryffindor was planning on doing just the same.

The players were at each other's throats from the moment Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Hermione held her breath and gripped Luna's hand tightly throughout the match. Slytherin scored the first three goals, but Gryffindor came back with double that within the first twenty minutes.

"Malfoy looks angry," Neville stated. Hermione's eyes searched until she found the boy, chasing after Harry with lightning speed. It ddin't look like Harry had spotted the Snitch yet, but Malfoy wasn't letting him get away. They were a blur of red and green robes as they flew about the Pitch.

Hermione knew that Malfoy had been in an especially irritable mood these last few days. Apparently his humiliation in DADA was still weighing heavily on his ego. Plus, Draco would probably never be able to accept the fact that Harry was a better Seeker than him. Slytherin versus Gryffindor Quidditch games always turned out something like this.

"He's seen it!" Dean Thomas shouted from somewhere behind Hermione, "Harry's seen the snitch!"

It was early in the game, and Gryffindor was ahead. If Harry caught the Snitch, they would have an easy win. Hermione trained her eyes on the messy haired wizard. He was picking up speed, but Malfoy was still right behind him. They made a quick turn, whipping past the Gryffindor stands. Malfoy was close enough that Hermione could see the determined grimace on his face. He seemed especially irritated by the audience, most of which was chanting Harry's name with fervor.

The Slytherin Beaters were relentless in their attacks. Harry was dodging Bludgers left and right, but one was bound to hit him eventually. Hermione gritted her teeth and increased her iron-grip on Luna's hand.

There was a roar from the Slytherins as one of their Chasers scored on Ron. However, it seemed that despite the full game of Quidditch going on, most attention was focused on Harry and Malfoy.

Malfoy was still hot on his tail, and it seemed like Harry was getting closer to the Snitch. Just then, a Bludger came flying at Malfoy. He swerved downwards, just narrowly avoiding it. Gryffindor was fighting back with full force, and Malfoy looked enraged.

The boys were flying low to the ground now, and Harry was reaching out for the Snitch. The chanting from the students had died away, left with a strange quiet as everyone watched with bated breath. Harry was only inches away.

"Malfoy looks like he's about to ram him," Neville said warily. Sure enough, Malfoy was gaining on Harry with intent. Hermione let out a shout as the Slytherin's shoulder collided roughly with Harry's just as Harry grasped the snitch.

They both fell off their brooms in a tumble, slamming into the ground and sliding a few meters. There was a roar of discontent from most of the audience; the Slytherins because Harry had just caught the snitch, and the Gryffindors because of Malfoy's foul play. Hermione rushed from the stands, running towards the field with other Gryffindors in tow. It looked like Harry had taken quite a beating from Malfoy's ram.

Ginny and Ron were already on the ground. Ginny was facing off against Malfoy, who had picked himself up off the ground proudly. "You lousy prat!" she yelled, stalking towards him predatorily.

"Enough!" Hooch shouted, arriving beside the group and separating Malfoy and Ginny. Harry was slowly getting up off the ground. Hermione arrived at his side and helped him. He was clutching his shoulder with pain.

"_You_," Hooch reared on Malfoy, "come with me."

Malfoy straightened his hair and followed Hooch off with one last sneer at Harry and Ginny. After he was out of the vicinity, the group erupted in a cheer. Harry extended his hand in the air, waving the snitch around. Hermione spotted Remus a little ways off, standing with a group of teachers, Madam Hooch, and Malfoy. He looked cross, and Hermione knew that Malfoy would be getting some sort of penalization.

Later that evening, word got out that Malfoy had been banned from the next Quidditch match. The Gryffindor Common Room was wild with excitement. Hermione barely made it back to Remus' rooms before curfew.

* * *

A few nights later, it was time for the monthly meeting of Prefects with the Head Boy and Head Girl. Harry, Ron, and Ginny had begged Hermione to let them know how Draco was taking his Quidditch ban. She paid close attention to him during the meeting. He seemed to be in a cranky mood, but not too terribly distressed. She barely said a word to him, and he completely ignored her. The Prefects must have thought it funny that the Head Girl and Head Boy absolutely refused to speak to each other.

After the meeting, she made her way out of the meeting room. Before she could get away, however, Draco stopped her.

"Granger," He snapped, causing her to turn around and glare at him. They were in the corridor, which was empty except for the departing Prefects. It was near curfew, so there wouldn't be any other students around. She was practically alone with him.

"What do you want?" She retorted, her voice cold and level.

"Don't think I don't see you watching me," he said, a grimace on his face.

Hermione folded her arms in front of her chest, "I don't know where you got off being so arrogant, Malfoy, but I assure you that I could care less about what you do with your life."

His expression lit up with anger. He took a step forward. Hermione stood her ground, despite the frightening realization that her wand was tucked away in her back pocket, far out of reach.

"You'd better learn to control your mouth before someone puts you in your place," he growled. His eyes were filled with hatred so tangible that Hermione couldn't help but feel frightened.

"Mr. Malfoy!" a prim and tense voice echoed through the hall. Hermione turned to see Professor McGonagall standing a little ways away, and beside her stood Remus. She let out a breath and allowed her shoulders to relax.

Malfoy glared at her once more before stepping backwards. McGonagall and Remus had arrived at her side now, and both looked at Malfoy menacingly.

"We were just talking," Malfoy claimed stubbornly.

"Go back to your Common Room," Remus practically snarled. There was a surprising ferociousness in his demeanor. Malfoy practically ran for it, disappearing down the darkened corridor quickly. Hermione was happy that Remus had been able to scare him off, but really, she didn't need him and McGonagall to come rescue her.

"Are you alright?" Remus asked.

"I'm fine. It's nothing I can't handle," she stood up straight and tried to not look shaken.

"Hermione, while I'm sure you can take care of yourself, if you ever feel threatened by Mr. Malfoy, you know that you can come to me," McGonagall said kindly. Hermione smiled tightly and nodded.

McGonagall sighed, "Well, I'm off to my office. It was nice speaking with you, Remus."

Hermione and Remus were now alone in the corridor. He was still looking her over with concern. She realized then that there were a lot of things she hadn't been telling him lately. Did he feel like he was being pushed away?

"Come on, let's go," he murmured, beginning at a slow pace down the corridor. Hermione walked beside him, trying to think of something to say to him.

"He just taunts me sometimes," she finally spoke, "It's really nothing to be worried about."

Remus exhaled, "I know. I just really dislike that kid."

She couldn't help but chuckle in response. "Oh, don't we all…"

* * *

**Author's Note**: Review? Also, feel free to let me know if there's anything you guys want to see in this story. I love the feedback.

_Coming up next_: The holidays approach and preparations must be made to leave Hogwarts.


	14. Holiday: Part 1

Hermione was walking back and forth across the sitting room, muttering quiet words under her breath as she searched for various items.

"Have you seen my scarf?" she asked, glancing at Remus as she made her way out of the bedroom.

"Coatrack?" he hummed, remaining in his position on the couch and watching her. Her hair had been pulled back in a tight braid, but small curls still escaped the plait, framing her face. He studied her as she moved to the door. She began rummaging around the coatrack, eventually finding her scarf. Remus continued to watch her.

The full moon was approaching, and he was feeling its effects. His bones were tired and his head hurt just a bit. Plus, he couldn't take his eyes off of Hermione. He cursed her jeans and the damned things they were doing to his brain. Where did these Muggles get off creating such tight pants?

She shrugged on her jacket and wrapped the scarf around her neck. After she was bundled up, she turned to face Remus. "You sure you don't feel up to going?"

Remus shook his head. It was far too close to the full moon for a Hogsmeade visit. She had been very kind, and offered for him to join her and her friends for some Butterbeer. He knew that it would have been awkward had he gone, and didn't want to bother her. Besides, he was completely exhausted. "I'll probably just sleep."

She smiled warmly at him, "Okay, I'll bring you back some chocolate from Honeydukes." With that, she swept out the door, leaving Remus alone.

The chill that seemed to be filling the castle was proof of the fact that it was December. Remus knew that the term would end soon, and Hermione would be shipped off to the Burrow with the others. To be honest, he would miss having her around at the castle. He remembered the loneliness of the Christmas holidays from the last time he'd been teaching here. It would be hard to not have her in his bed every night, but he would see her often enough over the holiday.

Perhaps a little solitude would help to clear his mind.

* * *

The weeks leading up to the holidays passed quickly. Remus recovered from the full moon, Hermione focused on her studies, and it was finally the end of the term.

Dumbledore had arranged transportation for all of the kids headed to the Burrow. It was a calculated and meticulously planned process. Apparently, Dumbledore had deemed the Hogwarts Express as unsafe at the present time. This worried Hermione; there had been many suspicious things popping up lately. It seemed that the world around them was growing more and more dangerous each day. Plus, Harry was having strange visions about Voldemort, which he was, of course, obsessing over. It had taken a lot of work on Ron and Hermione's part to convince Harry to just relax and have a nice vacation.

The plan was that Hermione, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Remus were to take a portkey to the Burrow. Remus was another precaution Dumbledore was taking for their safety. Apparently something could still go wrong with their Portkey travel, and he had to come with them to ensure that all went smoothly. It worried Hermione that there were so many concerns Dumbledore had, but nevertheless, she was pleased that Remus would be with her when she had to face Mrs. Weasley.

The five of them traveled to Dumbledore's office the night classes got out. Ginny and Ron were especially eager to get home and see their family. Hermione was a little anxious, still wondering if people would treat her differently now that she was married to Remus.

Finally, the whole group was ready to go. They had all shrunken their luggage and carried it with them. They only needed the Portkey before they left.

"Are you ready?" Remus asked under his breath, "you look nervous." He stood beside her, eyes roaming over the portraits in Dumbledore's office.

The others were talking and didn't seem to notice Remus' question. "Only a little bit," she mumbled, "just wondering what Mrs. Weasley will say."

His hand came up and rested on the small of her back in a calming gesture. Hermione tried to calm down her suddenly racing heart and smiled at the ground.

"The Portkey will be leaving in just a minute. Everyone get into position," Dumbledore said, ushering the students towards an old wireless radio that sat on the ground in the middle of his office. Hermione stepped forward with Remus, and he dropped his hand from her back. As he was doing this, she noticed Ron looking at her, and then at Remus' hand, an irritated expression on his face. She'd deal with that later, she decided.

With a pull at her navel she felt the Portkey whisk them away. She managed to not fall over when they arrived at the Burrow, surprising herself. Both Ron and Ginny had fallen to the ground, but quickly got up.

"Finally!" Ginny exclaimed, making her way towards the house with a purposeful stride. Hermione watched as her friends proceeded forward. Remus stayed at her side.

"It looks the same," she mumbled, her eyes roaming over the house and surrounding area. The only difference was that snow now covered the ground.

He hummed in agreement, following Hermione as she began to make her way towards the house. Mrs. Weasley had opened the door and was now greeting the kids with great hugs as they entered. "Wonderful to see you, Harry," she said as she released Harry from her hug. "Ah, Hermione," she smiled sadly, opening her arms. Hermione walked into the woman's embrace. Mrs. Weasley dropped her voice to a whisper, "I'm so sorry about everything that has happened to you, Hermione."

"It's fine," she pulled back, a collected expression on her face, "I'm okay."

The woman who was so much like a mother to Hermione just nodded, as if she didn't trust herself to speak. Hermione moved aside as Remus stepped in, and Mrs. Weasley hugged him as well. She could just barely hear Mrs. Weasley murmuring a quiet "thank you for everything you've done."

Remus pulled back and smiled at her. "Of course," he whispered before turning to Hermione and the others, "I'd better get back to Hogwarts."

"You're coming for Christmas, right?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," he affirmed, giving her a small smile.

"And you'll remember to feed Crookshanks?" She had wanted to bring the half-Kneazle with her, but it really wouldn't be smart to travel by Port-key with an animal.`

"Yes," He repeated, now looking rather amused.

Hermione nodded, and for a moment, wished that she had an excuse to kiss him goodbye. He seemed to want the same thing, judging by the way his eyes lingered on her face, but there was nobody here that they had to fool about the marriage. Everyone knew that they weren't supposed to have any sort of feelings for each other. Hermione resigned to a simple "Goodbye," which he returned before leaving. Once she heard the crack of his Disapparition she snapped out of her reverie.

"Well," Mrs. Weasley breathed, "I've just about got dinner ready. You kids go upstairs and get your rooms sorted and then come back down."

Hermione ignored the sly grin of Ginny as she followed her friends upstairs.

* * *

The following morning, Fred and George stopped by for lunch and to play a game of Quidditch with the others. Hermione refused to participate, as she always did. Instead, she decided to watch some of the game from the ground. There was snow everywhere and it was absolutely freezing out. Still, she bundled up and walked outside to watch the ending of the game. It seemed that Harry and Ginny had easily beaten out Fred, George and Ron.

Hermione was just standing on the edge of their makeshift pitch when Fred and George swooped down and hopped off their brooms beside her. The others were bringing their brooms and the supplies to the shed, leaving Hermione alone with the twins.

They both looped an arm around her shoulder from either side and began leading her towards the house. Hermione got a feeling that they had been planning some sort of conversation with her.

"Well, Hermione, we must say that we missed seeing you," the twin on her left announced.

"Yeah, especially after you spent so much time here during the summer," the other continued.

"You know, we found it very strange that neither of us was asked to marry you after this law came out."

"Not even a friendly owl asking if we'd consider it."

Hermione took a deep breath. "Well, it had to be someone at Hogwarts," she interjected.

"Yes, but you could have at least invited us to the wedding."

Hermione rolled her eyes. These boys just weren't going to leave her alone. "Sorry, but it was only Dumbledore and the Official at the wedding, aside from Remus and me, of course."

The twin on her right – she was pretty sure he was Fred – clicked his tongue. "You know, we could have helped the night go a lot smoother."

The other one, George, leaned down to whisper in her ear, "We're experts at spiking people's drinks when they're not looking."

They had arrived inside the house. Hermione turned to them with a sharp expression on her face. "I'm glad you didn't come because it is not okay to spike people's drinks." With that, she turned around and began removing her coat. There was still a slight hint of a smile on her face after the twins left the room.

That night, Ginny sat Hermione down in their shared room for a conversation she had apparently been planning. "We need to talk about the sex," she said seriously, "you've barely told me anything about it."

Hermione cringed, but realized that Ginny would keep pushing until they had this conversation. Besides, it would probably do some good if she talked to someone about her feelings.

Thus ensued a long conversation about sex, Remus, the first night, and basically every time after that. Hermione found that she did like talking to Ginny about these things. It helped her figure out what she wanted, and it was always nice to have a girl to talk to. It wasn't like Harry and Ron were people she could have this conversation with.

"I want more," Hermione finally admitted, falling back onto her bed with a heavy sigh. "We only get to do it once every other week. I mean, I'm a teenage girl, and I'm sleeping in bed beside him every night. I need more sex." It was true; she was becoming increasingly frustrated with the fortnightly schedule and their isolated intimacy.

"I'm sure he wants more too," Ginny conceded laughingly, "I mean, he's a man. You just have to make him admit it."

"But how can you be sure that he wants that? What if he just feels weird about me and doesn't actually want to have sex with me?"

Ginny furrowed her brow, lost in thought for a moment before her expression lit up. "I have a plan: on Christmas when everyone comes over for dinner I'll watch him. He'll probably have missed you a lot by then, and you can wear something sexy to dinner. I'll keep an eye on him and see how he reacts. That's an easy way to tell if he wants you, which I'm sure he does."

Hermione was hesitant. "I don't know…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure I have something perfect for you to wear. It'll be classy, yet sexy. You'll look great." Ginny was beaming with her idea. Hermione couldn't argue with the girl, and she decided that it wasn't a terrible idea. She really wanted to know if Remus wanted more from her, and Ginny would easily be able to evaluate the situation like this.

"Alright," she conceded.

"Yes!" Ginny squealed, standing up to pace the room and begin planning how Hermione could lure Remus in. Hermione just watched with a vaguely amused expression, slowly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Remus was lying in bed, feeling like the room was far too quiet. He glanced over at the space beside him, Hermione's space, and he felt a twinge of longing for her.

He was in too deep.

Here he was, sitting in bed alone and missing her, unable to go to sleep, unable to stop thinking about her. Even when she was around him, he missed her. He wanted to be able to touch her more, kiss her more. He wanted her to be here in bed beside him instead of off at the Burrow.

The wolf was growing more and more attached to her, and it was surely a bad road to go down. She probably didn't feel nearly as much for him as he did for her. He knew that she liked him, maybe even thought he was attractive, but she couldn't possibly _want_ him this much.

Oh, but how he wished she could.

Remus turned over in bed and let out an irritated groan when he caught a waft of Hermione's shampoo. The pillow smelled like her. Merlin, why did she smell so good? More importantly: why was he laying here in bed cherishing the smell of her on a pillow? If Sirius were here, he would be laughing his arse off and calling Remus a lovesick puppy.

Remus decided that there wasn't any sleep to be had right now. He would go for a walk. That always helped to clear his mind. He got out of bed and made his way around the castle, the quiet night somewhat comforting. Still, his thoughts barely strayed from Hermione.

Yes, Remus Lupin was in far too deep.

* * *

**Author's Note**: So I've heard some concerns over when this story is going to pick up the pace a little. Don't worry, that is coming _very _soon.

_Coming up next_: The Christmas party (and Remus) come along, plus, something disastrous happens to Hermione and her friends as the holidays draw to a close.


	15. Holiday: Part 2

"Don't look so uncomfortable, Hermione. The dress is amazing!" Ginny praised the uncomfortable brunette standing in front of her bedroom mirror.

"Er- don't you think it's a little low cut?" Hermione stammered, examining her reflection. The dress Ginny had given her was red with a tight and rather low-cut cleavage area. Other than that little issue, it looked fine.

Ginny sighed, "I guess so. Here, try this one."

Hermione took the next dress. It was grey and seemed to be more conservative. She slipped it on and was actually pleased with her reflection in the mirror. There wasn't anything embarrassingly exposing about this one. It had a nice medium length skirt and a normal neckline. Hermione turned around and examined her back, where the dress dipped slightly. "You know, I actually like this one," she conceded after contemplating it.

"Me too," Ginny agreed, standing up from her bed and beginning to rearrange Hermione's hair. "I suppose the other one probably would have had all my brothers eyeing you, which wouldn't have been too good."

Ginny helped Hermione calm her hair down significantly. Then, Hermione helped Ginny with her outfit, which she looked amazing in, of course. By the time they were finished Mrs. Weasley was calling to them from the kitchen.

"You girls look nice," Mrs. Weasley smiled as they entered the kitchen. "Come here and help me with the tea, would you?"

By the time Hermione was finished in the kitchen, Harry was pulling her out into the drawing room, where many familiar faces had already gathered. She spotted Remus immediately. He stood beside Charlie Weasley and Tonks, talking quietly. She pulled Harry with her as they approached the group.

"Hermione!" Tonks exclaimed, latching onto the girl in a hug. Hermione was happy to see Tonks, she'd always enjoyed her company. "We were so worried about you when we heard the news, but I've been talking to Remus and he seems to be taking good care of you." Tonks winked mischievously.

Hermione blushed before moving to stand beside Remus while Tonks greeted Harry.

"Hello," Remus said lowly, a slight smile on his face. For the briefest moment, she noticed his eyes skim over her body. Glancing across the room, she saw Ginny watching her with a triumphant look on her face. Hermione turned back to Remus inconspicuously.

"Hi," She replied, ignoring the little flip her stomach did.

Soon Charlie was telling them all about the dragons in Romania. Hermione just enjoyed being near Remus again. She caught herself glancing up at him regularly, catching his eye a few times. It almost seemed like he had missed her as much as she had missed him.

Most of the guests were close friends along with some Order members. Hermione noted that both McGonagall and Flitwick had come, but Dumbledore was not in attendance. Most of the room seemed to be a swarm of red hair.

Later in the evening, everyone sat down for dinner. Hermione was turned around enough in her walk to the table that she had somehow ended up sitting between Fred and George. Their suspicious attitude indicated that they had coordinated this. A couple seats down the table, Remus gave her an apologetic smile from his position between Charlie and Bill.

"So, Granger, we've been meaning to speak with you again."

"About what?" she inquired coolly.

George – she knew it was George because his mother had just addressed him – plastered on a big smile, "We think that we have some products that might be of use to you."

"Or maybe some of the other students in a similar situation to yours," Fred continued. He looked far too suspicious.

Hermione had never been able to appreciate the nature of the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes franchise, so she honestly didn't know what they possibly thought she would be interested in. It was probably just an attempt for them to advertise more in Hogwarts through her. She didn't reply to them, instead taking a moment to serve herself pork off the serving dish that was being passed around.

"Don't you want to know more?" George inquired excitedly.

"I think you're going to tell me anyway, so by all means, go right ahead."

Fred and George leaned in closer and dropped to a lower volume. Just as George began speaking Hermione made eye contact with Remus across the table. He seemed to be wondering what was going on between her and the twins.

"We have some great products that may help with the marriage…" George whispered.

"You know," Fred continued, waggling his eyebrows, "spice up the bedroom life."

Hermione's jaw dropped. Remus must have noticed her oncoming anger because a hint of amusement flashed across his face.

She looked at each of the boys, her mouth set in a straight line. "I don't find that funny," she said articulately.

George cracked a grin, "fine, we get it."

"Yeah," Fred agreed, "It's already pretty randy with a werewolf. No help needed, huh?"

Hermione looked for something to hit Fred with, but settled on just crossing her arms in a stubborn manner. Remus was still watching the scene, and it seemed that Charlie and Bill had joined him. She could hear a murmur of their unintelligible conversation from across the crowded table. Her blushing and the smugness of the twins must have been funny, because they all had slight grins on their faces.

Dinner passed with Hermione ignoring the twins. After dinner, many guests left, leaving only closer friends and family members. Remus stayed, and approached her as everyone was walking back into the sitting room. "Were they bothering you?" he inquired.

"You don't want to know," she mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Probably not," he mused, sitting beside her on the couch. Ginny sat on her other side, with Harry perched on the arm of the couch.

They exchanged gifts quickly. Hermione received books from most people, which was normal and fine by her. Remus gave her a couple of very intriguing titles, along with a new quill. She and Harry had ended up pitching in on his gift together, and bought him a new set of robes. They were rather fancy, thus why she had needed Harry to chip in. Remus was happy with his gift, and gave her a heartwarming smile.

After exchanging presents, Mr. Wealsey brought out a bottle of wine. Hermione was given a glass. She sat beside Remus while everyone spoke quietly about the holidays and the snowy weather.

It got late, and Remus eventually announced that he had to get back to the school. Hermione walked with him to the door after he had said goodnight to all the Weasleys and Harry

Hermione knew she was a little bit tipsy. Not drunk, just tipsy. She remembered all those weeks ago, when he had brought out the Firewhiskey for their first night together, "liquid courage" as he had called it. Now, Hermione was feeling rather courageous. She looked around to make sure that nobody could see them from the other room, and then turned to face Remus.

"It was nice to see you," she murmured, looking up at him as he shrugged his jacket on.

"You too," he replied, watching her in an unfamiliar way, "my rooms are quite empty without you." It was probably not meant to be such a sincere comment, but her heart just soared in response.

"Well," she sighed, rolling on the balls of her feet, "I'll be back soon."

He nodded. "Goodbye." His voice was almost a whisper.

Hermione took a deep breath and leaned forward. She had to stand on her toes, but once she was moving in his direction, he began moving forwards as well. It was strange how they'd never kissed except on their fortnightly dates, but it was still so comfortable. Their lips met and she sighed into the kiss, extending her arms to wrap around his neck. His hands met either side of her waist, and she could feel the warmth through the fabric of her dress.

They only kissed for a moment or two until they realized that there were still people in the other room. Remus pulled back, but only enough so that he could glance over his shoulder, then look back to Hermione.

He appeared to be contemplating something important, but she just couldn't read him. Maybe it was the alcohol, or perhaps the slight snogging they'd just engaged in that made her brain a bit foggy. She just studied him while he studied her.

"I have to go," he finally rasped, his hands tightening around her waist for a moment before he released.

"Bye," she said, stepping back and smiling at him. "Happy Christmas."

He opened the door with one hand, still facing her. She felt the chill of air drift into the house, but still stood steady in front of him. His lips quirked into a slight smile as he spoke, "Happy Christmas, Hermione."

Then he left, closing the door behind him with one last glance over his shoulder. She listened for the sound of his Apparition before returning to the sitting room with everyone else. It seemed that nobody had noticed her absence, except Ginny, of course, who had been watching her and Remus like a hawk for the whole evening. Hermione fell back onto the couch beside Ginny. "He kissed me goodnight," she whispered to her friend, "That means something, right?"

Ginny let out a breathy laugh. "Yeah, that definitely means something."

* * *

The end of their break was nearing. Hermione had enjoyed her time with the Weasleys, but she was beginning to miss the routine of classes. Of course, she also missed Remus, but that was mostly just a longing for the day she got back to Hogwarts and they had to fulfill their fortnightly requirement.

For now, she only had three more days of the holiday.

She was currently standing by the frozen-over pond outside the Burrow with the others. Fred and George were engaging Harry and Ron in some sort of competition where they tried to crack the surface of the pond with spells. Hermione and Ginny stood a little ways off, watching the snowfall and chatting about their respective relationships.

"Harry's not been telling me all that much lately," Ginny murmured, her lips set in a small frown.

"He's just afraid of you getting involved in all of this," Hermione said confidently, "He doesn't want you to have to worry about it."

Ginny sighed, "I suppose it's sort of like what you're doing with Remus then, huh?"

She paused; realizing that what Ginny had just said was very true. "You're right," she finally admitted, nodding slowly. "We haven't talked about the war or – you know – _Voldemort_ at all lately."

"Then maybe it's time to talk," Ginny suggested.

"Maybe you're right." Hermione sighed, watching the snowflakes drift towards the ground.

The boys were all shooting red sparks at the pond now. Hermione and Ginny both watched their antics with amused expressions. It was only when Ginny turned to look up at the sky that Hermione noticed the girl's expression fall.

"Hermione," the redhead spoke in a quiet, grave voice, "What's that?"

She looked up and saw a black object in the far off sky. Squinting her eyes, she noticed a few more dots of black around it. They seemed to be coming closer, like clouds of black smoke blowing towards the Burrow.

"Oh my god," Hermione whispered, taking a compulsive step backwards, "they're Death Eaters."

Ginny jerked around to meet Hermione's eyes, her expression alarmed. Before she could say anything, however, Hermione was bolting into action. "Get your parents!" She told Ginny, pushing the girl towards the house before sprinting the few meters to the lake. Ginny hesitated, glancing once more at the quickly approaching figures before turning to the house.

Hermione screamed something indiscernible at the boys. They stopped their activities and looked around. "Death Eaters!" She yelled, pointing at the sky.

Fred and George were the first to spring into action. Fred grabbed Harry while George grabbed Ron. They were all yelling, but the twins were just focused on dragging the boys towards the house.

Hermione was rooted in place, her wand drawn, watching as tons of Death Eaters began to swarm towards them. George had pushed Ron towards the house and now reached for her, dragging her away from the pond. She broke out of her reverie in time to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley standing in the front door. Charlie was there as well.

Before she could make out what they were doing or what anybody was screaming, an explosion of snow and dirt knocked Hermione and George to the ground. Her head fell hard against the ground, and her ribcage had taken a pretty bad impact. She struggled to get up from the ground, but it seemed that it was too late for her to hope to reach the house. There were black-cloaked Death Eaters everywhere. Mrs. Weasley was screaming somewhere far off. Hermione tried to get up from the ground, but she could barely breath and a masked Death Eater was stalking in her direction, his wand drawn…

* * *

Remus was leaning over his desk, sorting through a sizeable stack of essays. He had graded most of them, and was therefore proud to have gotten so much work done over the holiday. Now he only had a few days left until the students arrived back at school.

His mind drifted off thoughts of Hermione. It was strange how invigorating their kiss had been. They'd never kissed like that outside of their bedroom. It had only served to make him want to be able to kiss her more. He was warming up to the idea of his affections for her. She'd looked beautiful at the Christmas party, and the way she'd smiled at him was so very heartwarming. Remus had realized that he wanted her to know what he felt for her. She deserved to know.

He jumped in his chair as the Floo ignited in a blast of flames. The face of Minerva McGonagall was staring at him, her expression ashen and panicked.

"Remus!" she called shrilly, "There's an attack on the Burrow!"

It only took a second for him to spring into action. Remus jumped from his chair, a panic similar to Minerva's setting in. "Who?" he asked, stepping towards the fire and summoning his cloak.

"Death Eaters," she said gravely. "We must go now. Albus is already on his way."

Remus nodded and watched as Minerva's face died away. Without a moment of hesitation, he bolted for the door.

* * *

_Coming up next_: It only gets worse from here…


End file.
